Chapter 12 Chapter Eleven

At the same time when the second field and the third field launched the battle of crossing the river, the advance corps of the four fields, led by Xiao Jinguang, had already entered the outskirts of Wuhan, effectively restraining the Bai Chongxi Group. On February 25, 1949, 120,000 soldiers of Xiao Jinguang's corps marched southward from the Pingjin area, which opened the prelude to the four-field campaign in the six central and southern provinces. After the three major battles, the elite main force of the Kuomintang army was completely wiped out. Although the remaining army has millions of people, its combat effectiveness is not strong except for Bai Chongxi's troops.Fighting the Yangtze River and liberating Nanjing were no problem for the two armies of Liu Deng and Chen Su. Only Bai Chongxi's troops in the Wuhan area placed their main forces in the Xinyang, Zhumadian, and Queshan areas, which constituted a major threat to the right wing of Liu Deng's army. major threat.If Liu Deng's army crosses the south of the Yangtze River, its weak right back may be attacked by Bai Chongxi.Therefore, while deploying the battle of crossing the river, Liu Deng called the Central Military Commission and asked the four fields to go south in advance to hold Bai Chongxi back, so as to relieve the worries of Liu Deng's army crossing the river.

The main difficulty for the advance corps of the four fields to go south lies in internal ideological problems.This army has gone through the two major battles of Liaoshen and Pingjin in succession, and is very tired.As soon as the Liaoshen Campaign was over, they rushed thousands of miles and entered the customs secretly. At that time, it was very difficult to do ideological work.Soldiers from the Northeast fought bloody battles against the enemy in the Northeast, motivated by defending the fields they shared with their families. Once the entire Northeast was liberated, their thinking changed. "Fighting for one's own interests" is the most direct way of working, and everyone can understand it; while "fighting for the interests of the entire class" is much more abstract, and some fighters understand it as "sacrificing blood for others."After the Battle of Pingjin, the entire field army was carrying out ideological rectification work from top to bottom.The advance corps went south ahead of time, so they had to make adjustments while walking.

Farther and farther away from the Northeast, many Kanto big men who have never traveled far are panicked in an increasingly unfamiliar environment.The color of the land changed from black soil in the northeast to loess in North China, and then to red soil in the south; In the battle of Pingjin, they could walk one or two hundred miles a night, but now they can only walk a few tens of miles during the daytime march.This time Liu Bocheng was in a hurry. The Yangtze River was approaching the flood season, and when the river rose, it would be difficult to cross the river, and the time to initiate crossing the river had to be determined by the arrival of the Four Fields Advance Corps to the outskirts of Wuhan.

Liu Bocheng Data Center expressed serious concern about the progress of Xiao Jinguang Corps.The Central Military Commission decided that Liu Deng would directly command the Xiao Corps. On March 19, Liu and Deng called the Military Commission and Xiao Bingtuan: Xiao Jinguang's corps went south along the Ping-Han line and encountered two hard nails: one was Anyang; the other was Xinxiang.Although the Kuomintang troops in these two places are small in strength and not strong in combat power, they have very strong fortifications. The vanguard didn't know the details at first, thinking that the two cities could be taken easily, but it took a dozen to realize that they had hit a snag.Liu and Deng were in a hurry, and Xiao Jinguang was inconvenient to entangle with the enemy, so he had to order a detour to the south, leaving the difficulty to the main forces of the four fields behind.

The action of 120,000 people from Xiao Jinguang's corps going south alarmed Bai Chongxi.At this time, Bai Chongxi was still in secret peace talks with the CCP in Beiping through Liu Zhongrong and others, fantasizing about ruling across the river. Of course, he did not want to have a direct conflict with the PLA at this time.Therefore, the defenders in Xinyang, Zhumadian, Queshan and other places were ordered to withdraw southward. The Xiao Corps successfully occupied Xinyang, Zhumadian, Queshan, Minggang, Changtaiguan and other strongholds, and only wiped out more than 700 enemies. In early April, when Zhang Zhizhong led the Nanjing delegation to conduct formal peace talks with the CCP in Beiping, the Xiao Corps had already entered Hubei and successively occupied Huayuan, Hanchuan, Yingshan, Guangshui, Xishui and other places.Bai Chongxi realized that he could no longer retreat, otherwise Wuhan would not be able to keep it.While ordering his subordinates to step up preparations for war, he called Li Zongren and asked the domestic peace negotiators to propose to the CCP: "During the peace talks, both sides stop military operations."

Zhou Enlai rejected Zhang Zhizhong's request.In order to protect himself, Bai Chongxi had to further shrink his troops and transferred the 3rd Corps in northern Jiangxi back to Wuhan for defense. In this way, all threats to the right flank of Liu Deng's army were lifted. In view of the fact that Xiao Jinguang's corps had completed the task of containing Bai Chongxi, Lin Biao ordered Xiao Jinguang to stop advancing, the troops went to rest, and raised hundreds of thousands of food and grass for soldiers and horses to create conditions for the main forces of the four fields to go south.

Soon after the advance corps went south, Siye held an eight-day meeting of senior cadres in Beiping, which was an important part of the comprehensive ideological rectification and mobilization work for going south.The meeting was held in the "Jiuye Mansion" inside Chaoyangmen. Lin Biao, Luo Ronghuan, Tan Zheng, Tao Zhu and Liu Yalou successively made important reports at the meeting. The reports of Lin, Luo, and Tan focused on rectifying internal ideological problems, and criticized the mistakes and shortcomings of some units and cadres with examples.This high-level cadre meeting made full ideological and organizational preparations for the army to go south, and greatly encouraged the fighting enthusiasm of the majority of cadres.

However, there are always flaws in things. Excessive criticism will also hurt the self-esteem of cadres and lead to things going the wrong way. Lin Biao's report was titled "On Unity", the purpose of which was to enhance the cohesion of the troops.There is no doubt that this meeting and Lin Biao's report achieved the desired purpose.However, not everything is perfect. The Chen Guang problem is a typical example. Since Chen Guang left the 6th Column in January 1947, he never had the opportunity to command operations.After recovering from his illness in Harbin, he was appointed commander of the Songliao Military Region and commander of the Harbin Garrison.

Before the southward mobilization meeting, he was appointed as the deputy chief of staff of the Shino Command.This job arrangement is indeed a bit wronged for him, a "famous general" who has become famous during the Red Army period. Just when Chen Guang was unhappy, Lin Biao publicly criticized Chen Guang for "taking credit and pride" at the high-level meeting.Lin Biao originally just gave an example to prevent the feeling of underestimating the enemy due to "winning too many battles and being prone to complacency", but he ignored Chen Guang's character and "brought him out to show the public" inappropriately.It is conceivable how much this hit Chen Guang.

In this way, Chen Guang embarked on the journey to the south with a heavy ideological burden on his back. On New Year's Day in 1950, Chen Guang left the Siye Command and went south from Wuhan to Guangzhou to take up a new post.Exactly what the new job title will be is still debated. The entry "Chen Guang" in "China Military Encyclopedia" contains: "Successively served as deputy chief of staff of the Fourth Field Army, commander of the Guangdong Military Region and commander of the Guangzhou Garrison Region." It is believed that his new position is "Deputy Commander of Guangdong Military Region and Commander of Guangzhou Garrison Region".Is he serving as a chief or a deputy in the Guangdong Military Region?It is said that the Central Military Commission initially appointed him as the commander of the Guangdong Military Region. Not long after the order arrived in Siye, the Military Commission issued a new order to redesign him as the deputy commander of the Guangdong Military Region and the commander of the Guangzhou Garrison Region.After he arrived in Guangzhou, "some serious mistakes occurred", and the organization sent someone to talk to him. He was very angry at the accusation of exaggerating the facts and developed a confrontational mood. On May 1, 1950, he wrote in his diary: "I hate Lin so much!"

During the high-level cadre meeting, Mao Zedong personally received all the cadres from the four fields who participated in the meeting.It was March 31. Lin Biao and Luo Ronghuan led the generals above the division to Xiangshan by car.The five secretaries of the Central Committee Mao, Liu, Zhou, Zhu, and Ren all participated in this important event with historic significance. Facing hundreds of generals in the four fields, Mao Zedong waved his giant hands to personally mobilize for the southward battle: "During the two and a half years of the Liberation War, we wiped out the main military forces and all elite divisions of the Kuomintang reactionaries. The reactionary ruling institutions are about to collapse and be wiped out. Our three-way army is about to go down to the south of the Yangtze River, with great momentum and courage! Comrades, go to the south of the Yangtze River! We must win the victory of the whole country!" After the high-level cadre meeting, the four-field command organization made some major personnel adjustments.Political commissar Luo Ronghuan, who had been working with a serious illness, fell ill again during his inspection of Tianjin. In view of his inability to go south with the army, the central government appointed Deng Zihui as the second political commissar of Siye to be in charge of political work in the absence of Luo Ronghuan. Although Luo Ronghuan is nominally the first political commissar of the Four Fields, Lin Biao and Deng Zihui are mainly responsible for the work of the Four Fields. After the Battle of Tianjin, Liu Yalou made a request to lead troops to fight.After discussing with Luo Ronghuan, Lin Biao appointed him as the commander of the 14th Corps.On Lin Biao's proposal, Xiao Ke served as the Chief of Staff of the Four Fields. Xiao Ke worked with Lin Biao when he was in the Jiangxi Soviet Area, and later separated from Lin Biao's command to become the commander of the newly formed Sixth Army Corps, with seniority older than Liu Yalou. At the turn of the spring and summer of 1949, the Fourth Field Army underwent a new reorganization, governing 4 corps and 13 armies. The sequence is as follows: Fourth Field Army (Commander Lin Biao, Political Commissars Luo Ronghuan and Deng Zihui, Chief of Staff Xiao Ke, Director of the Political Department Tan Zheng, Directors of the Logistics Department Zhou Chunquan, Li Jukui, Deputy Chiefs of Staff Nie Heting and Chen Guang, Deputy Directors of the Political Department Tao Zhu, Political Commissar Chen Yi) Directly affiliated troops: The Special Forces Command (commander Wan Yi, political commissar Zhong Chibing) has jurisdiction over the 1st and 2nd Artillery Divisions, the Tank Division, the Antiaircraft Artillery Command Post, the Engineer Command Post, the Baggage Regiment, and the Zhurui Artillery School. Guangdong and Guangxi columns (commander Zeng Sheng, political commissar Lei Jingtian) govern the 1st and 2nd divisions; The 50th Army (commander Zeng Zesheng, political commissar Xu Wenlie) has jurisdiction over the 148th, 149th, 150th, and 167th divisions. The 12th Corps (commander and political commissar Xiao Jinguang, deputy commanders Chen Bojun and Han Xianchu, deputy political commissar and director of the Political Department Tang Tianji, chief of staff Xie Fang): The 40th Army (Commander Luo Shunchu, Political Commissar Zhuo Xiong) governs the 118th, 119th, 120th, and 153rd Divisions; The 45th Army (Commander Chen Bojun, Political Commissar Qiu Huizuo) governs the 133rd, 134th, 135th, and 158th Divisions; The 46th Army (Commander Zhan Caifang, Political Commissar Li Zhongquan) governs the 136th, 137th, 138th, and 159th Divisions. The 13th Corps (commander Cheng Zihua, political commissar Xiao Hua, deputy commanders Li Tianyou and Peng Mingzhi, director of the Political Department Liu Daosheng): The 38th Army (commander Liang Xingchu, political commissar Liang Biye) governs the 112th, 113th, 114th, and 151st Divisions; The 47th Army (commander Cao Lihuai, political commissar Zhou Chiping) governs the 139th, 140th, 141st, and 160th divisions; The 49th Army (Commander Zhong Wei, Political Commissar Xu Binzhou) governs the 145th, 146th, 147th, and 162nd Divisions. The 14th Corps (commander Liu Yalou, political commissar Mo Wenhua, deputy commanders Huang Yongsheng and Liu Zhen, deputy political commissar and director of the Political Department Wu Faxian): The 39th Army (commander Liu Zhen, political commissar Wu Xinquan) governs the 115th, 116th, 117th, and 152nd divisions; The 41st Army (Commander Wu Kehua, Political Commissar Ouyang Wen) governs the 121st, 122nd, 123rd, and 154th Divisions; The 42nd Army (commander Wu Ruilin, political commissar Liu Xingyuan) governs the 124th, 125th, 126th, and 155th divisions. The 15th Corps (commander Deng Hua, political commissar Lai Chuanzhu, deputy commanders Hong Xuezhi and He Jinnian, director of the Political Department Xiao Xiangrong): The 43rd Army (Commander Li Zuopeng, Political Commissar Zhang Chiming) governs the 127th, 128th, and 129th Divisions; The 44th Army (Commander Fang Qiang, Political Commissar Wu Fushan) governs the 130th, 131st, and 132nd Divisions; The 48th Army (Commander He Jinnian, Political Commissar Chen Renqi) governs the 142nd, 143rd, and 144th Divisions. On April 11, 1949, Lin Biao led 800,000 main forces of the four fields and hundreds of thousands of former migrant workers to start going south. This grand momentum of conquest from north to south is indeed unprecedented. The southward army was divided into three routes, with the Ping-Han line as the central axis to move southward. The first road is the 47th, 41st, and 48th armies, going south along Pinghan Road and crossing the Yellow River near Huayuankou; The second route is the 16th, 38th, and 39th armies, going south along the Pingda Highway and crossing the Yellow River near Dongming; The third route is the 45th, 49th, and 44th armies, passing through Linqing along Jinpu Road, crossing the Yellow River near Shouzhang, and then heading towards Shangqiu. The army going south along the Ping-Han line must first pull out the two "hard nails" of Anyang and Xinxiang.During the meeting of high-ranking cadres in the four fields, after the field division assigned the task of attacking Anyang to the 42nd Army, the leaders of some divisions underestimated the enemy, thinking that Jinzhou and Tianjin had been defeated, and that attacking the not-too-large Anyang City was still "still" It's not that Zhang Fei eats bean sprouts", they claim that "as long as two days, Anyang is guaranteed to be conquered". At the high-level cadre meeting, Luo Ronghuan specifically criticized the arrogance and arrogance of some people for not paying attention to investigating and studying the enemy's situation and blindly underestimating the enemy.The last batch of the Luo Political Committee, the 42nd Army is awake from top to bottom. What is the situation in Anyang City?No one can tell how ugly Yinmao is.They had to ask someone in the know. When Liu Yalou delivered the task, he took out a three-page "North China Situation Bulletin" from his purse, and he said to Army Commander Wu Ruilin and Political Commissar Liu Xingyuan, "The situation in Anyang and Xinxiang is on it. It's very simple. This material is from Nie Rongzhen The commander wants to come, and there is no other material other than this." Wu Ruilin frowned after reading the materials: "I have no objection to the execution of this task, and I promise to complete the task. Based on these three pages alone, I only know that the enemy's fortifications are strong and the officers and soldiers are tenacious, but no matter how strong or tenacious they are. I don't know!" Liu Yalou said: "The difficulty is that the enemy's situation is unknown. How about Anyang and Xinxiang, which are difficult to fight? However, let me tell you one thing, it is said that the enemy troops are composed of old bandits, old spies, landlord bullies, and home return regiments. Some heinous reactionaries, this kind of enemy is the most difficult to fight. It is said that Commander-in-Chief Zhu understands the situation and asked Political Commissar Luo to contact you. You go to Xishan and ask the Commander-in-Chief in person.” Luo Ronghuan picked up the phone and quickly got in touch with Zhu De. On April 16, 1949, Wu Ruilin led his troops to the south, and the next day began to besiege the enemy of Anyang. After the 42nd Army surrounded Anyang on all sides, Wu Ruilin personally circled the city for reconnaissance. The city defense of Anyang is really extraordinary. There are two water cities, one city wall, and dotted with open and dark fortresses.Not seeing it with his own eyes, but Wu Ruilin thought that what Liu Yalou said a few days ago might be exaggerated. At that time, Liu Yalou patted him on the shoulder and said, "Old Wu, you have hit a hard nail. , Peiping must be strong!" Wu Ruilin decided to give the enemy a disarm. He ordered the artillery to bombard the strongholds inside and outside the first water city one by one.The enemy's stronghold was bombarded by artillery fire. Immediately, the walls collapsed, bricks and stones flew across, and most of the mortars and machine guns were destroyed. The enemy officers and soldiers could not hide in time, and suffered heavy casualties. Never in the history of the 42nd Army has it spared shells like this. It only attacked the southeast corner stronghold guarded by a battalion of the enemy, and used 4 howitzers to bombard it for more than 20 minutes.All the enemy's fortifications were destroyed. The officers and soldiers of that battalion wanted to rely on the strong fortifications to save their lives. Unexpectedly, the strong fortifications could not bear the heavy artillery bombardment and became their graves. After the strongholds inside and outside the first water city were pulled out, Wu Ruilin ordered the troops to rest for a day, replenish ammunition, and make preparations for the next battle. Anyang and Xinxiang became two isolated islands in the middle of the vast ocean. The short-term assault tactics used when besieging the city and fighting for aid were outdated. Wu Ruilin had enough patience to calmly consider how to eat the enemy bite by bite. After a day's rest, the cannons and machine guns replenished the ammunition, and the men and horses also regained their energy. In the early morning of April 19, when the sun had just dispelled the morning fog, the cannons in the four fields began to roar again. The shelling lasted for seven days. Wu Ruilin set up the army command post on the water tower of the railway station, personally observed the enemy's situation, and directed the troops to attack with firepower.The regiments also piled up many commanding heights around Anyang City as the "eyes" of the artillery. The bunkers inside and on the walls of the second water city were completely destroyed, and the bunkers were found and destroyed one by one. After seven days of fierce fighting, all the strongholds outside the city wall were removed.The enemies in the city were able to fight back with artillery fire in the first few days, but as soon as their small-caliber guns opened fire, they were immediately retaliated by large-caliber shells. By the seventh day, all the artillery in the city was silent. At this point, only breaking into the city and street fighting were left, so Wu Ruilin ordered a two-day rest.While the troops replenished ammunition and recovered their physical strength, the division and regiment cadres made new combat deployments. The way to destroy the city is: use machine gun fire to cover the blasting team approaching the city wall, first blast a hole in the city wall with a small explosive package, and then fill the hole with thousands of kilograms of explosives to detonate, blasting a gap more than ten meters long in the city wall in one fell swoop. At 18:00 on May 5, the 42nd Army launched a final attack on Anyang City. Under the cover of artillery and machine gun fire, the assault troops crossed the first water city. The barbed wire fence that had been knocked down by the artillery fire was replanted, and the water from the Zhang River was introduced into the moat. After the net was laid, it crossed the second water city and poured into the city from the gap in the blasted city wall. Most of the enemy defenders in Anyang City are the Home Returning Corps, bandits and spies, and they are very stubborn. They desperately resist the attack of the People's Liberation Army under the slogan of "living and dying with Anyang City". The street fighting was fierce. Explosive packs and grenades became the attacking troops' sharp weapons to solve the problem. Poor Anyang City was riddled with holes due to the stubborn resistance of the defending enemy.After a night of fierce fighting, 14,000 defending enemies were wiped out. At dawn on May 6, the gunshots in the city finally fell silent. The people who had been in fear during the fierce battle all night carefully opened the door, and the oncoming sunshine brightened their eyes—the sky had changed. While the 42nd Army besieged Anyang, the 47th Army and the 71st Army of the North China Military Region surrounded the enemies of Xinxiang.According to the instructions of Shino Headquarters, another method will be adopted to solve the problem of defending the enemy in Xinxiang-without bloodshed. It was the 40th Army of the Kuomintang who was ordered to guard Xinxiang. The commander of the army fled long ago, and Li Chenxi, the deputy commander of the army, guarded the isolated city on behalf of the commander of the army.Anyang City was under fire, and Xinxiang was under heavy siege.Li Chenxi was in panic all day long. One day, a secret letter was sent from the frontier. Li Chenxi read the letter and couldn't help being surprised. Li Chenxi looked at the letter, and the image of his cousin Ran Ying immediately appeared in his mind.He knew that Ran Ying had worked in the "communist army" camp for many years, so he might not be the bare-bottomed mud boy in his impression.There has been no news for many years, but at this juncture, a "cousin of the Communist Army" suddenly appeared!Li Chenxi thought about it for a day, and decided to establish a relationship with the "communist army" through his cousin. The next day, Li Chenxi sent an adjutant out of the city to bring Ran Ying into the city.Ran Ying is the deputy head of the Artillery Regiment of the 47th Army of the Four Fields, and the "guard" who entered the city with him was Li Xicai, the chief of the reconnaissance section. Li Chenxi temporarily arranged his office, and asked the adjutant to invite his cousin Ran Ying in.After the cousin exchanged a few pleasantries, Ran Ying opened the window and said something bluntly: "Cousin, I came to see you this time, not because of my personal opinion, but because the chief sent me here..." Li Chenxi interrupted his cousin and said, "Now it's time for dinner. Let's have dinner first, and we'll talk in the evening." The adjutant immediately ordered the orderly to arrange the food and wine on the Eight Immortals table.Li Chenxi pointed to a nave painting on the wall and said, "Cousin, how about this painting?" Ran Ying looked up, and saw that the painting was "Duckweed with Lotus Leaf", which was obviously newly mounted, and there were still wet marks, so he winked at Li Xicai, and they looked at each other and smiled. The implication of the painting is "peace"! At 8 o'clock that night, under the Chinese painting of "Lotus Leaf Duckweed", the negotiation officially started. The smile on Ran Ying's face disappeared naturally as the two parties sat down, and the serious expression made his cousin sit up straight. "My cousin must have heard about the prestige of our four fields? This time going south, the mission of our army is to attack Xinxiang. I came to you to avoid bloodshed, to prevent the people from suffering losses, and to point out the way out for you." "Siye's reputation is the trump card of the communist army. I know that." Li Chenxi was lucky, and said, "A while ago, two armies with hundreds of thousands of troops passed by, and they were also troops of your Siye. Xinxiang is a small place, so it cannot be Your real goal!" "Those two armies have more important tasks, and we don't have time to entangle you. Our goal is to liberate the whole of China, but Xinxiang must be liberated this time. We have another army that won't go around the city. " Ran Ying emphasized, "In the past, you used negotiating means to soak mushrooms with Erye, procrastinating and perfunctory. Now your opponent is Siye, and you are not allowed to delay any longer!" "Oh my brother! It's not that we intend to trick you, but internal opinions are different. Some advocate fighting, some advocate peace, and some advocate pulling the troops away." "Pull away?" Ran Ying sneered, "Where are you going?" "Go to the Taihang Mountains to fight guerrillas, that is our old place." "Taihang Mountain is our old base area. You did bad things there back then, and the common people hated you to the bone. There is no possibility for you to survive when you go back." Ran Ying shook her head slightly and smiled contemptuously, "You are fighting guerrillas with the Communist Party, aren't you? With Dragon King Saibao? Thanks to you who can say that." Li Chenxi laughed awkwardly. "Cousin, stop being obsessed. Chiang Kai-shek took away your army commander Li Zhenqing. What else do you have besides the empty hat of acting army commander? Don't be a dead ghost." "Baldy Jiang rejects dissidents. If we didn't have many ways, we would have been eaten. However, the brothers have followed me for so many years, I can't lead them to the wrong path!" When Ran Ying heard this, her face changed suddenly: "What is your plan? Are you willing to accept the peaceful adaptation, or do you want to fight? If you want to fight, you are from the old army, and I am the artillery commander of the People's Liberation Army. Your equipment is better than the new ones. What about the equipment of the 1st Army and the New 6th Army? The artillery of our regiment is all large-caliber American howitzers and long-range cannons. You know what the consequences will be." Li Chenxi was trying to test, but when he saw that the conversation was a little stiff, he quickly turned a corner and said kindly: "Don't worry, brother, let me think twice. I agree with your kindness and the high opinion of your army. The peaceful adaptation you mentioned is the so-called Beiping I have no objection to the method, but isn't the method of Pan Shuoduan and Zeng Zesheng better?" Although uprising and defection are both defections, they are different in nature, they are two different concepts, and they are treated differently.Ran Ying said: "The situation is different now. If you asked for an uprising before the Battle of Pingjin, we would of course welcome it. Now that the army is approaching the city, your army is in a desperate situation. The only way is to accept peaceful reorganization. Otherwise, what awaits you is not The Beiping way, but the Tianjin way. I hope my cousin will make a decisive decision and resolutely lead his troops to surrender." Li Chenxi still wanted to bargain, so he recited the tactic of "dragging", saying: "To tell you the truth, I have been very depressed these days. The future of 20,000 soldiers is at stake. I can't make the decision alone. I have to discuss it with my brothers." .” As the siege of Anyang progressed, Li Chenxi realized that Siye's troops had to take down the two cities of Anyang and Xinxiang when they went south this time, and they couldn't escape. Under the pressure of the situation, Li Chenxi accepted the plan of peaceful adaptation. At 10 a.m. on May 3, Li Chenxi followed Ran Ying out of the city and came to the headquarters of the 47th Army to directly negotiate with army commander Cao Lihuai and political commissar Zhou Chiping.Commander Cao and Political Commissar Zhou welcomed Li Chenxi's peaceful reorganization. "Xinxiang was able to be liberated peacefully and avoid bloodshed, all thanks to your army's generosity and compassion for the common people in the world. I and all the officers and soldiers of the 40th Army are very grateful! My cousin Ran Ying ventured into the city and contributed to this." Cao Lihuai explained the conditions of the PLA as follows: 1. All Xinxiang defenders accept peaceful reorganization, and must ensure that the property of the people of Xinxiang will not be damaged in any way before leaving the city. 2. All weapons and personnel must be counted one by one according to the name of the roster, and no damage or release of personnel is allowed. 3. In order to ensure the safe conduct of the peaceful adaptation, all spies in the city were detained by the opposing military headquarters one by one and handed over to the People's Liberation Army for disposal. 4. All local armed groups and returning home groups should be disarmed by the other party first, and all personnel should be handed over to the People's Liberation Army for reception, with no less than one person. Li Chenxi accepted the above conditions and made three requests at the same time: 1. To ensure the safety of all personnel, travel expenses will be paid after reorganization, those who are willing to study will study, those who are willing to work will be assigned work, and those who are willing to return to their hometowns for production will be at their own discretion. 2. Guarantee the inviolability of private property. 3. The family members handle it by themselves. Li Chenxi himself asked to go to Beiping to recuperate from his illness. After recovering from his illness, he went to study at North China Military and Political University. Cao Lihuai and Zhou Chiping agreed to Li's conditions.The two parties immediately drew up an agreement and signed it. On May 5, the same day that the 42nd Army entered Anyang, troops from the 47th Army also entered Xinxiang.So far, the first battle of Siye's southward march, the Battle of Anxin, ended successfully. A total of 16,000 enemies were killed, wounded and captured, and 17,000 people were peacefully reorganized. After the Anxin Campaign ended, Lin Biao and the new Chief of Staff Xiao Ke led wild drivers to the south and arrived in Kaifeng, a famous city in the Central Plains, on May 9. Lin Biao received the above-mentioned telegram and thought for a long time in front of the huge military map.The biggest problem for the four-field army going south is the food shortage. If the leading troops cannot cross the river quickly, the follow-up troops should not march too fast, otherwise they will be crowded together, and it will be difficult to collect food locally and transport food from the rear. The advance corps was blocked by the Yangtze River.Bai Chongxi had to retreat the troops guarding Wuhan to the south because the main forces of the second field and the third field had already reached the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line after crossing the river, threatening his right wing. The southward retreat of the White Army created conditions for the advance corps led by Xiao Jinguang to take advantage of the void to cross the river. On May 10, Lin Biao and Xiao Ke ordered Xiao Jinguang and Chen Bojun to: At this time, the headquarters of the advance corps was stationed at Jigong Mountain at the junction of Henan and Hubei provinces, and the Ping-Han Railway passed at the foot of the mountain.Xiao Jinguang lived in an elegant small villa not far from the station, where Wu Peifu used to watch the current situation quietly after his resignation, waiting for a comeback. After Xiao Jinguang received the telegram from the field secretary, he immediately ordered all the ministries to advance to the north bank of the Yangtze River and wait for the opportunity to cross the river. After Liu Deng and Chen Su's armies launched the Battle of Crossing the Yangtze River, Bai Chongxi never had the energy to take care of the military in Wuhan. He had been manipulating Li Zongren to fight against Chiang Kai-shek. It's getting worse. On April 22, Chiang Kai-shek asked Li Zongren to meet in Hangzhou. He Yingqin, Zhang Qun, and Bai Chongxi also went to Hangzhou to discuss countermeasures with Chiang and Li.The meeting between Jiang and Li was originally facilitated by Bai Chongxi's urging Li Zongren to "showdown" on Jiang, but Lao Jiang was very cunning and did not mention "going abroad to hand over power" at all.Seeing the bad weather, Bai Chongxi was afraid that he would not be able to return to Wuhan that day, so he pulled Cheng Siyuan aside, and said: "The weather is bad, I have to take off, otherwise I will not be able to return to Wuhan today. You have to remind Mr. De that today's meeting is the most important thing." One of the most important things is to have a 'showdown' with Mr. Jiang. This means that Mr. Jiang will resign if Mr. Jiang does not go away, so as to put pressure on Mr. Jiang." As soon as Bai Chongxi left, Li Zongren was confused by Chiang Kai-shek's performance, and forgot that the main purpose of coming to Hangzhou was to force Chiang Kai-shek to hand over power.Not only did Chiang Kai-shek not bring up the country's affairs, but he proposed to organize a "Central Extraordinary Committee" with himself as the chairman and Li Zongren as the vice-chairman. He completely assumed the posture of coming out of the mountain again. Li Zongren said: "I became the acting president because of the peace talks. The peace talks failed. Please ask Mr. Jiang to resume his post as president." Chiang Kai-shek was far more sophisticated than Li Zongren politically. Seeing Li Zongren's "showdown", he immediately made a "high gesture" and said: "Whether it is peace or war, you are in charge, and I will actively support it." Li Zongren didn't understand the meaning of this sentence for a while, and when he boarded the plane back to Ningxia in the evening, he felt that Lao Jiang not only did not intend to give up power, but also actively interfered in military and political affairs in the name of "supporting" President Li. After Bai Chongxi arrived in Wuhan, he withdrew the troops that were prominently exposed on the north bank of the Yangtze River to the south bank for defense.His strategic intention is to take the southwest as the rear and Hunan and Jiangxi as the frontier, to keep Guangdong and Guangxi with all efforts, and to revive the military with US aid.To achieve this goal, he obviously did not have enough troops, so Tang Enbo and other units of the Central Army in Shanghai and Hangzhou had to be transferred from the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line to the west to join his Guangxi and Cantonese units of Yu Hanmou. However, Lao Jiang turned a blind eye to the rapid advance of the People's Liberation Army crossing the river to the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line, and devoted himself to deploying his Songhu defensive front.Lao Jiang and "Little Zhuge" couldn't match up for the shoot, so Bai Chongxi was so anxious that he jumped around in Wuhan. On April 28th, Cheng Siyuan flew from Guilin to Hankou. As soon as he arrived in Central China, he saw Bai Chongxi talking on the phone with Chiang Kai-shek at the top of his lungs. The other party still couldn't hear clearly. Bai Chongxi put down the phone helplessly, and said to Cheng Siyuan, "Oh, why did Mr. De go to Guilin?" Cheng Siyuan explained: "Guangzhou is under the control of the CC department, and Degong can't play a role if he goes there, so he temporarily lives in Guilin. He asked you to fly to Guilin immediately to discuss countermeasures." Bai Chongxi understood that politics is more important than military affairs. If political problems are not resolved, his military operations in Wuhan are meaningless, so he ordered the troops stationed in Hankou to start crossing the river, and ordered the ministries to retreat southward in batches as planned.He was afraid that after the People's Liberation Army occupied the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line, they would copy his retreat from the south. On April 29, Bai Chongxi and Cheng Siyuan flew to Guilin. It was raining in Guilin, and the plane could not land, so they had to divert to Guangzhou. When Premier He Yingqin saw Bai Chongxi, he complained: "As the head of state, Mr. De didn't go to Guangzhou, the capital of travel, but hid in his hometown in Guilin. How proper is it?" On May 1, the Kuomintang held the "Central Regular Meeting" in Guangzhou, and decided to send Juzheng, Yan Xishan, and Li Wenfan to Guilin to persuade them to drive, and asked Bai Chongxi to persuade them. The next day, Bai flew to Guilin together with the officials from the central government. Li Zongren took out a written material and said to Ju Zheng and others: "If Mr. Jiang is unwilling to return to his post, please persuade him to transport the national wealth and US aid troops stored in Taiwan to Guangzhou and hand them over to the government, and invite Jiang to go abroad for inspection. The government is able to exercise its due power." "This was originally my opinion. It was very wrong for you not to have a face-to-face showdown with him in Hangzhou." Bai Chongxi took the written material and handed it to Ju Zheng, "Please pass this document on to Mr. Jiang." On May 3, Ju Zheng and others had a conversation with Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi. While agreeing in principle to the written material, Ju Zheng requested that it be changed to "Records of Conversations between Acting President Li Zheng, Yan Xishan, and Li Wenfan". On the same day, Ju Zheng and others flew back to Guangzhou with the "Record of the Conversation". On May 4, He Yingqin sent a special plane to deliver the "Talk Record" to Chiang Kai-shek in Shanghai. On May 5, Chiang Kai-shek replied to He Yingqin, asking him to hand over the gold and silver deposits in Taiwan and American weapons, and replied: "The gold and silver in stock was ordered to be transferred to a safe place when he was in office. I haven't heard of it since he retired. Storage and distribution are the responsibility of the Ministry of National Defense, and they have no right to intervene after retiring, and they can also be checked if they are listed in the books." Chiang Kai-shek was very angry at Li Zongren asking him to go abroad, and said in the letter: When I was in Xikou, I once said to brother Liqing (Wu Zhongxin): "The last time they asked me to go to the field, I can go to the field by myself. Now if they force me to go abroad to die again, I can't bear this miserable situation." The same is true. And in the past, those who advocated peace meant that I was obstructing peace and asked to go down.Today's peace talks failed, and he accused me of holding back the government, forced me to go abroad, and charged me with the responsibility of seeking help from abroad.If foreign aid does not arrive in the future, China will bear the responsibility of obstructing diplomacy and restricting the government. It will not be allowed to gain a foothold in the country, nor will it be able to accommodate in foreign countries. China is also a free citizen. Today, the country is in dire straits, and the estrangement between Brother Delin and China is so far beyond expectations.Those who assisted the government in the past have been considered to contain the government, so they can only be secluded from the world, and they no longer know anything about politics. On May 6, the Kuomintang held its Central Committee meeting in Guangzhou, and decided to send Yan Xishan, Zhu Jiahua, and Chen Jitang as "special envoys to meet Li", and flew to Guilin with Chiang Kai-shek's letter that day. Li Zongren read Chiang Kai-shek's letter and did not express his position immediately, but first sought Bai Chongxi's opinion. "What does 'retire from the world' mean? It is worth scrutinizing." Bai Chongxi analyzed, "Mr. Jiang did not want to go out. The reason why he was willing to go out was to buy time for a comeback. Degong went to Guangzhou as soon as possible to prevent Jiang The chairman of the committee has made a comeback." After hearing this, Li Zongren decided to go to Guangzhou to continue as the contemporary president. While Bai Chongxi was assisting Li Zongren in fighting against Chiang Kai-shek in Guangzhou, the situation in Wuchang was much more serious than half a month ago. Deployment to flee south. Bai Chongxi sent a telegram to the Central China Military and Political Minister's Department in Wuchang to quickly draw up a southward withdrawal plan. Beginning on May 10, the 7th Army, the 19th Corps, and the 58th Army will withdraw southward along the Guangdong-Han Railway in the order of the 15th. complete. On May 14, the 43rd Army of the Four Fields, led by Hong Xuezhi and Lai Chuanzhu, went all the way to Ketuanfeng, Huanggang, Lanxi, Xishui, and Qichun, and arrived at the bank of the Yangtze River.At that time, all the boats on the riverside were dragged to the south bank by the Kuomintang army. The 283rd Regiment of the 128th Division of the 43rd Army arrived at several fishing villages along the river on the afternoon of the 14th. Sun Qianqing, the head of the regiment, raised his binoculars and could see Huangshi Harbor on the opposite bank clearly.He was worrying about not being able to find the ship, but he didn't expect good things to come to him.In the evening, a small boat came from Huangshi Harbor, and there were two people in officer's uniform sitting on it. As soon as they landed, they said: "Comrade PLA, we are here to contact the uprising, take us to see your commander." Sun Qianqing personally inquired and learned that the visitors were Adjutant Zhang and Adjutant Li of the 915th Regiment of the 305th Division of the Huangshi Port Defense Army. They were ordered by Commander Guo to contact the uprising. "Your head Guo asked for an uprising, what are the requirements and conditions?" asked head Sun. "We don't know the specific conditions. Commander Guo asked your army to send representatives across the river to negotiate." At this time, Hong Xuezhi, the deputy commander and chief of staff of the 15th Corps, made an inspection tour, and Commander Sun immediately reported this important information.洪学智果断地说：“不管是真是假，都要派人过江去谈判，抓住机会宣传我军政策，争取他们起义。” 接着洪学智亲自找张、李两副官谈话：“郭团长派你们来联系起义，我代表兵团全体指战员对你们高举义旗、弃暗投明表示欢迎。” 两位副官一看洪学智的派头就知道是解放军的大官，连忙点头哈腰。 孙团长在一旁说：“这是我们兵团洪司令。” 二人一听是兵团司令，条件反射般两脚一并，将腰板挺得笔直。 “请转告郭团长，我马上派人随你们一同过江。你们起义当然好，不起义我军也要打过去。我们四野先遣兵团已抵达长江北岸，势不可当，何去何从，请你们作出明智的选择。” 洪学智说完，让通信员将两位副官请到另一间屋里。孙团长将通信参谋张志诚唤来，对洪学智说：“军长，我们考虑派张志诚过江去谈判，请您最后决定。” 洪学智是第43军的老军长，部下仍叫他“军长”。 洪学智朝张志诚打量一番：“你很年轻嘛，能行吗？” 张志诚很有信心地说：“报告军长，我保证完成任务，请首长放心！” 洪学智笑道：“好！就派你过江，另派一位通信员保护你。你的任务是：第一，宣传我军政策，争取他们起义，并组织起义部队加强对大冶、石灰窑方向的警戒，同时掩护我军渡江。第二，要组织起义部队护船、押船过江，以接应我军过江。第三，要灵活机智处理突发事件，如起义遭敌镇压，你要督促郭团长坚守阵地。将船押往江北是头等大事，没船我军无法渡江，这一点你必须牢牢记住。” 洪学智稍顿片刻，提醒道：“现在还不能断定敌人是否真的起义，起义的可能是存在的。同时也不能不防有假起义的可能性，把我们的谈判代表骗过江，逼你说出我军的机密。” “请首长放心，在任何情况下我都会保守秘密的。”张志诚道。 洪学智拍了拍张志诚的肩膀，亲切地说：“你肩负重任，组织信任你。你过江后对郭团长说你是军部参谋，奉兵团司令命令过江谈判。说我军有水陆两用坦克，有舟桥部队，还有远射程大炮，过江不成问题。只因对方要求起义，所以我军只好等待你们的行动，希望黄石港能和平回到人民手中。” 洪学智交代完毕，与张志诚和通信员小赵握手道别：“祝你们胜利归来！” 张参谋和小赵随两名副官乘小船向江南划去。张副官说：“张参谋，你小小年纪敢跟我们过江，不害怕吗？” 张志诚回头一指：“你看！”两位副官回头一看，只见北岸人影幢幢，大部队正源源不断拥向江边。 “我有千军万马作后盾，四野的部队可不是浪得虚名，我们有水陆两用坦克，有舟桥部队，还有远程加农炮，如果你们不起义，我们就马上开炮强渡！”张志诚朗声笑道，“我相信你们起义的诚意，我是被你们邀请过江的，有什么可怕的？” 张副官听了这话，对李副官说：“解放军装备精良，干部年轻有为，可谓来者不善、善者不来啊！” 过江的谈判非常顺利，同时国民党军第913团也要求参加起义。张志诚和第913团马团长谈判之后一同乘小船返回江北，洪学智和赖传珠等首长在江边的一幢民房里正焦急地等待消息。 又多了一个团要求起义，洪、赖二人喜出望外，立即满足了马团长的起义要求。 马团长随即乘小船返抵南岸，凌晨3时，第一批渡船从黄石港起航，有汽船一艘，大小帆船十几艘。 四野第一支部队于5月15日凌晨3点多钟渡过了长江，一枪未发便占领了黄石港，从而撕裂了白崇禧的江防阵线。 四野抵达长江北岸，即将发起渡江作战的消息使白崇禧在广州再也待不下去了。5月13日清晨，白崇禧匆匆辞别李宗仁，登机飞赴武昌。 他一回到武昌红楼总部，武汉警备司令兼第58军军长鲁道源立即附在他耳边嘀咕起来。白崇禧一听惊得头发倒竖，第19兵团要叛变！ 第19兵团当时驻扎在长江南岸武昌至嘉鱼一线，控制了粤汉铁路北段，是武昌驻军南撤的必经之地，兵团司令张轸曾在1948年底受白崇禧委托，与刘伯承部秘密和谈，并积极参与白崇禧“逼蒋下野”的活动。 白崇禧以为张轸与中共的联系是受他指派，事实上白本人也一直与中共有秘密联系，如刘仲容就是白派驻北平的“特使”，这在那个动乱年代属正常现象，各地方军阀为了自己的利益常常暗中与中共联络。但是，这种事情是有一定限度的，张轸是否会越轨“叛乱”，白崇禧还不能断定。他立即打电话给张轸兵团第127军军长赵子立，探问虚实。 赵子立是个顽固的反共分子，他对张轸的起义内情是清楚的，张轸多次拉他参与起义，均被拒绝，但赵子立是张轸扶植起来的将领，“义气”二字使他不至于主动告密、出卖上司。白崇禧在电话里一追问，他就慌了，支支吾吾了半天。白崇禧立即判断出张轸确实出了问题。 白崇禧下令正在南撤的桂系第7军停驻于贺胜桥，做好战斗准备，听候他镇压张轸兵团的指令。 第7军是桂系的王牌，其战斗力不在国民党军“五大主力”之下，李宗仁、白崇禧就是依仗该军起家的，一直是桂系看家的本钱。第7军在北伐战争中战功卓著，有“钢军”之称。张轸兵团是由地方部队刚刚改编而成的，战斗力较弱，如果打起来，肯定不是第7军的对手。但是在四野大军压境之时，白崇禧是不会打出王牌，在内耗中亏掉血本的，他首先想到的是“智取张轸”。 白崇禧以点验为名，下令第19兵团集中，企图以第7军加以包围而胁迫南撤。张轸当时只想到白崇禧让部队“集中点验”，目的是要他率部南撤，而他已经派人过江与解放军联系，准备起义，并接应四野部队过江。他以集中场地难寻为由，要求改为部队沿铁路线摆开，让白崇禧前来检阅。 白崇禧为了稳住张轸，冒险乘铁甲车沿铁路线匆匆检阅了一番。随后他打电话给张轸，让张来总部会商军务。此时，张轸派往江北与四野联络的人尚未返回，在没有得到解放军方面的指示之前还不能贸然起义，于是决定到武昌去见白崇禧。 师长涂建堂劝阻道：“起义在即，张司令不便亲赴武昌，以免遭遇不测。我来兵团部时，沿途见第7军的部队轻装南开，机枪卸去了枪衣，行动十分可疑。” 张轸说：“江北还没消息，起义为时尚早，不去武昌赴会恐白生疑，反而对起义不利。” 第128军军长辛少亭说：“这个时候到武昌开会，准没好会，司令官还是不要去了。” 张轸笑着安慰部将：“没什么大不了的事，肯定是商量撤退。你们放心，白崇禧不会把我怎么样的。” 5月14日上午，张轸乘吉普车从贺胜桥出发，去武昌总部开会。 白崇禧一见张轸，就拿出一份电文，说：“这是参谋总长顾祝同来的，你看吧！” 张轸接过电报，心里叫苦不迭，上面写着：“据密报，张轸勾结共匪，图谋叛反，请将师长以上军官扣押送广州，从严法办，所部就地解散。” 张轸毕竟是经过不少风雨的老将，马上就镇静下来，生气地说：“哼！押送广州从严法办，去他妈的！我勾结共匪可是你白长官的命令，难道你信不过我？” 白崇禧想骗张轸将师以上军官叫来，假惺惺地说：“如果不相信你，就不会让你看电文。这件事先别管它，我会妥善处理的。我们马上要南撤，上面命令恢复河南省政府，建立豫鄂两省游击区。你把师长以上军官叫来开会，看谁愿意回去打游击，可以委任他为省主席兼游击区指挥官。” 张轸说：“哪能都来，总得留个看门的吧！” “你就在这里给军、师长们打电话。”白崇禧说，“今天晚上你就不必回去了，住在我这里，我们再作长夜之谈。” 张轸心想：好家伙，你想一网打尽啦！ “我服从命令，不过我兵团驻汉办事处的人都知道我今天到了武昌，不少人都等着我去处理事情。再说，办事处有直通电话，我可以直接通知军、师长来开会。我去一趟，至多一个钟头就可以回来。我也很想跟你彻夜长谈。” 白崇禧聪明反被聪明误，他怕张轸翻脸不跟军、师长们通电话，这边将张轸一扣留，那边恐怕就提前“叛乱”了，于是故意不捅破那层窗户纸，使了个欲擒故纵之计，让张轸回办事处打电话。 “好吧！你快去快回。”白崇禧微笑道，“我相信你不会使我失望。” 张轸一出总部，坐上吉普车就直奔金口，飞也似的逃出武昌。 白崇禧打电话给特务机关，令其严密监视第19兵团驻汉办事处。可是张轸压根儿就没去办事处。 金口是长江南岸的一个重要渡口，第19兵团的一个师部设在那里。张轸的吉普车在长江大堤上飞驰，卷起漫天尘土。师长鲍汝澧用望远镜一看，见兵团司令官坐在上面，顿时明白出事了。 张轸一下车，立即用电话通知几位心腹将领到金口开会共商起义大计。这时，第7军突然包围了贺胜桥第19兵团司令部，强迫兵团部和5个直属营缴械，并将公私财物抢劫一空。张轸积蓄的几千两黄金和一万多块银元被桂系全部洗劫。 此时张轸才理清头绪，在他赴武昌开会的同时，白崇禧就已经向第7军下达了袭击贺胜桥兵团部和第127军军部的指令。 第127军军长赵子立本来就反对起义，第7军的到来使他腰板撑得更直，他乘机下令全军向南撤，有两个师执行了南撤的命令，第309师师长涂建堂是起义行动的积极参与者，该师拒绝了南撤的命令。 白崇禧下令第7军袭击兵团部，抢劫财物，要挟第127军南撤。这一连串的行动使张轸大为光火，他用电话要通白崇禧，将“小诸葛”大骂了一顿。 第7军解决兵团部和第127军军部之后，又向驻山坡的第128军军部进袭。幸好该军已接到向金口靠拢的命令，他们一面警戒，一面向金口撤退。 张轸在等待军、师长赴会的同时，对部队作了调整，令辛少亭的两个师向金口靠拢，并在马鞍山设防以阻击桂军的进攻。 夜幕降临后，张轸召开紧急军事会议，他将武昌脱险的经过以及兵团部遭到袭击和赵子立率部南撤等情况述说一遍。与会将领义愤填膺，大骂白崇禧这只老狐狸手段太辣。 张轸决定提前起义，各将领均表赞同，唯独立师师长张旭东哭丧着脸，说：“我过去杀共产党员太多，怕遭清算，我本人不参加起义，也不妨碍你们起义，让我回去取行李单独走吧。” 辛少亭在张轸耳边轻声提醒道：“不能放他回去，他一回去恐怕会拉走队伍。” 可是张轸是位忠厚长者，经不起张旭东苦苦哀求，他让张旭东做了个“不拉走队伍”的口头保证后，就放张走了。 张旭东一回到师部立刻翻脸，把他那个师全部拉走了，还将会议内容向白崇禧告了密。 白崇禧听到张轸起义的消息惊恐万状，后悔未果断扣押张轸，“上了老家伙假仁假义的当”。他立即下令第7军派两个团向马鞍山进攻，掩护其他部队迅速南撤。 5月15日拂晓，张轸的两个师在马鞍山与桂系两个团发生激战，桂系另一部亦向金口佯攻。 白崇禧在天亮时，被另一个消息惊得目瞪口呆—四野一部从黄石港附近渡过了长江！ 再不走就会被截断后路，白崇禧紧急部署南逃，他采取以攻为守的办法，向张轸的部队保持进攻势头，让张轸只有招架之功，无暇阻止白部南逃。 张轸派往江北联系起义的人此时返回金口，告以解放军同意张轸的起义要求。张轸随即以“中国人民解放军55555部队”的代号发表了起义通令，正式宣布起义。 当日下午，白崇禧从武昌登机仓皇南逃。此时，他的主力部队基本上通过了张轸兵团原来的防区，只有少量非正规部队被张轸起义部队截住。 5月16日下午，四野先遣部队在肖劲光、陈伯钧的率领下解放汉口，次日渡江解放武昌。华中地区最大的城市武汉未经激烈战斗，顺利回到了人民手中。