Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Planning Huaihai

November 1948 Huaibei Nanjing Zhumadian Fangcheng Xibaipo Since the beginning of autumn, there have been several consecutive torrential rains on both sides of the Huaihe River.Some people say, just wait and see, with these few rains, the cauliflower in the Huaihe Plain next spring will be golden and yellow, and the azalea on the Dabie Mountains will be like agate.However, the current Huaibei Plain is full of bitter wind and bitter rain.On the severely desertified and salinized land, clumps of sparse yellow weeds are swaying in the wind and rain, and clusters of low and weak shrubs are covered with rainwater.The leaden clouds in the sky hang down, and there are no birds; everything is silent on the ground, and there are no traces of animals.In the purgatory-like world, there are only frightened eyes flickering in the cracks in the mats of the scattered shacks, revealing a trace of life.

Suddenly, the roar of a car tore through the dull and lonely atmosphere, and then saw a convoy driving from Zhecheng, Henan into the boundary of Bozhou, Anhui.The convoy moved very hard in the muddy wilderness. The wheels sank into the soft ground from time to time, idling angrily, and splashed the mud; "Political Commissar Deng, let's take a walk." The big Chen Yi got impatient, and greeted Deng Xiaoping loudly. Deng Xiaoping smiled, pushed open the car door, jumped lightly, and stood firmly on the ground at the junction of Henan and Anhui.Compared with a few months ago, Deng Xiaoping looked more powerful. Under the protruding browbones, two deep-set eyes shone with a metallic luster.

The trip to Xibaipo came and went in a hurry.He eagerly attended the important meeting that determined China's future and destiny, and returned eagerly with the spirit of the meeting to deploy the upcoming "big action". On September 13, the day when the Politburo meeting ended, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai had a special talk with Deng Xiaoping alone.Mao Zedong stared at Deng Xiaoping's thin face for a long time, and said: "You have suffered a lot by marching thousands of miles into the Dabie Mountains." Deng Xiaoping smiled: "Chairman and Vice-Chairman Zhou moved to northern Shaanxi, and the situation is similar to ours." In one sentence, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai burst into laughter.

Mao Zedong wrenched his fingers: "One in northern Shaanxi, one in the Dabie Mountains, we are two beggars beating dogs - trying to survive. However, without you standing firm in the Dabie Mountains, Enlai and I would still 'flee in embarrassment' on the Loess Plateau. It is impossible to hold this meeting, let alone start a decisive battle with Chiang Kai-shek across the country. Comrade Xiaoping, counting, we meet once a year, and there are great changes every time we meet. When we meet again next year, there should be A fundamental change." Deng Xiaoping said: "Please rest assured, Chairman, I will go back and discuss it with Comrade Bo Cheng. We should play a greater role in this fundamental change. I think we will be able to complete the task given to us by the Chairman."

Zhou Enlai said on the side: "Your strategic position is too important. It depends on you to destroy the main force of Chiang Kai-shek of the Kuomintang, and also to destroy Chiang Kai-shek's lair!" Deng Xiaoping nodded deeply: "I hope this day will come sooner." Today, this day is no longer a hope, but has really come. Things are moving too fast! During the meeting of the Politburo, Mao Zedong was still weighing where to start the first move in the decisive battle.He waved his big hand to point vertically and horizontally on the map, analyzed the national war situation in detail to the participants, and finally turned his attention to the northeast: "Although the situation in various battlefields across the country is conducive to our army's operations to varying degrees, Chiang Kai-shek's strategic intentions are intentional. Extending the time to hold on to several isolated key points in the Northeast, to restrain our Northeast Field Army from entering the customs; at the same time, he is planning to withdraw the Kuomintang Army in the Northeast to Central China to strengthen the defense of Central China. If we point to the North China battlefield, our army will be attacked by the two strategic groups of East China and Northeast China and will be passive; if we point the direction of the strategic decisive battle to the East China battlefield, the enemy in the Northeast will retreat quickly and realize their strategic contraction intention. Therefore, the Northeast battlefield has become the key to the development of the national war situation. The situation in the Northeast battlefield is particularly favorable to us now. The enemy forces are isolated and scattered, and the situation is outstanding; the area is small and supplies are difficult; Changchun is surrounded and difficult to rescue; We are indecisive. Our army is stronger and better equipped; the land reform has been completed and the rear is consolidated; all districts in the pass can provide support. It can be said that the right time and place are all on our side.”

Zhou Enlai continued: "As the chairman said, if we annihilate the enemy forces in the Northeast, we will completely smash Chiang Kai-shek's intention of strategic contraction, and the situation will change rapidly in our favor, and the battle will be much easier to fight. In this way, not only can our Northeast PLA carry out strategic maneuvers and enter the border for operations at any time; but with the liberation of the heavy industrial zone in Northeast China, our PLA will have a strategic general rear.” Mao Zedong pointed to the Northeast battlefield on the map: "Therefore, the direction of our People's Liberation Army's strategic decisive battle should first point to the Wei Lihuang Group on the Northeast battlefield. This will put our victory in the initial battle on a safe and reliable basis."

The development of the situation was just as Mao Zedong analyzed and expected.In the past two months, there have been frequent reports of success in the Northeast battlefield. Jinzhou was conquered, Siping was liberated, and Changchun defended the enemy and surrendered; only one Shenyang remained, and it was only a matter of time. Mao Zedong picked up the second chess piece.On September 24, the East China Field Army liberated Jinan, breaking the connection between the enemy in North China and East China. Su Yu lost no time in proposing to launch the Huaihai Campaign, which made Mao Zedong decisively put the pawn under Chiang Kai-shek's nose.

On October 11, Mao Zedong drafted for the Central Military Commission and sent to the East China Field Army a telegram "Operation Policy on the Battle of Huaihai". On October 22, the Central Plains Field Army captured Zhengzhou, cutting off the link with the enemies in Northwest and East China. On the same day, Liu Bocheng led the Second and Sixth Columns of the Central Plains and the main forces of the Southern Shaanxi, Jianghan, and Tongbai Military Regions to quickly move southward, restraining the main Kuomintang Zhang Gan and Huang Wei Corps in the Jianghan and Tongbai areas, preventing the Central Plains enemy from reinforcing East China, and making Xu Bang The Kuomintang troops in the Huaihai and Huaihai areas were completely isolated in the narrow area where the Longhai and Jinpu railways meet.

The next day, Mao Zedong sent a telegram to Chen Yi and Deng Xiaoping to command the main forces of the central field to advance eastward. After meeting with the Huaye Third and Guangdong-Guangzhou Columns, the first goal was to annihilate Sun Yuanliang's corps, and the second goal was to capture Suxian and Bengbu.Before that, the 400,000 Huaye army led by Su Yu was going straight out of Shandong with overwhelming momentum, aiming at the Huang Baitao Corps in the Huaihai area. Ever since, from the Central Plains to East China, from the west of Henan, the south of Shandong to the north of Anhui, the convoys and horse teams were accompanied by dozens of torrents composed of legged poles, meandering and criss-crossing, setting off a storm that covered the sky and the sun. Smoke and dust covered the entire Huaihai battlefield.A decisive battle of an unprecedented scale, with 600,000 People's Liberation Army against 800,000 Kuomintang Army, has begun!

Following the neighing of a fierce horse, Zhang Shenghua, the chief of operations section, tightened the reins, jumped off the saddle covered in mud, and stood in front of Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yi: "Report! The Military Commission sends an urgent call!" Deng Xiaoping took the telegram and looked at it quickly—— As word by word of the telegram came into view, the expression on Deng Xiaoping's face kept changing.The Military Commission decided that the entire Huaihai Campaign would be under the unified command of him and Chen Yi, which made him feel heavy on his shoulders; the news of the victory in the Northeast battlefield reported in the telegram made him very excited.He buried the heaviness and excitement in his heart, and silently passed the telegram to Chen Yi.

Wearing an American-style leather jacket and wearing tall leather boots, Chen Yi read the first message in the telegram and said, "Brother Comrade, a great responsibility has come down to us, you and I have to do our best!" Seeing the Northeast The good news on the battlefield made Chen Yi even more joyful, "Good news! Good news! Political Commissar Deng, from this point of view, the day of national victory is coming soon!" Deng Xiaoping struck a match, lit a cigarette, and took a deep puff: "Yes. We should also speed up our pace and start a cheering battle!" While speaking, the troops followed.Cars whine, horses neigh, footsteps trample. A team of hundreds of thousands of field troops and tens of thousands of migrant workers marched into the Huaibei Plain soaked in blood, tears and saline. Overnight, Chiang Kai-shek seemed to have suffered from a serious illness and aged a lot.He flew back to Nanjing from Peiping yesterday—October 31st.And more than 20 days ago, the majestic and invincible Chiang Kai-shek was a different scene—— In order to command the Battle of Liaoxi, he was dressed in a military uniform, full of medals on his chest, and stepped off the gangway of the plane with a reserved smile. He set foot on the land of the ancient capital Beiping under the flashing spotlights, and walked into the "residence" of Yuan'en Temple, thinking that he would win the battle by personally supervising the battle. in the grip.Unexpectedly, things backfired, the People's Liberation Army won by surprise, even defeated Jinzhou and Changchun, and surrounded Yingkou and Shenyang.Not only is the whole of Northeast China about to be lost, and the 400,000 elite national army will be completely lost; Jinan will fall, Zhengzhou will fall, Xuzhou will be in a hurry, and North China and the Central Plains will also be in jeopardy. The military defeat has made him anxious; the political and economic crisis has made him feel as if he is sitting on the crater of a volcano.In the past few days, the economy in the rear has deteriorated rapidly, and prices have skyrocketed; people's grievances are boiling, riots are everywhere, and it has reached the point of total collapse.Factions within the party are torn apart and scramble for power and profit;Especially the American ambassador Leighton Stuart, who was born in Hangzhou, once taught at Yenching University, and lived in this yellow land for fifty years. He is known as the "China Hand". An ominous sign.The U.S. presidential election is imminent, and Chiang Kai-shek bet his "treasure" on the Republican candidate Dewey, and spent a lot of money.But if Truman came to power instead of Dewey, what about Li Zongren, who was favored by Truman? ! Peiping couldn't stay any longer.The entire Northeast has become red, so what's the point of being in Beiping?Moreover, if the backyard in Nanjing had not been extinguished, it would have burned and exploded without the fire of the Communist army. He called Fu Zuoyi, the commander of the North China "Suppression General", and deployed troops face to face in an attempt to prevent the Northeast Communist Army from entering the customs; then he telegraphed Nanjing Defense Minister He Yingqin and Chief of Staff Gu Zhutong, ordering them to gather more troops and stick to Xuzhou; and consider the necessary At that time, Xuzhou was abandoned and Jianghuai was defended in order to defend the "capital". After dealing with all this, Chiang Kai-shek, physically and mentally exhausted, boarded the "Meiling" and flew back to Nanjing. Officials who waited for Chiang Kai-shek at Nanjing Ming Palace Airport yesterday said later that they felt as if they were not welcoming the president, but attending someone's funeral.In the miserable autumn wind, they stood awe-inspiring.Chiang Kai-shek shook hands one by one, and whoever he held felt a chill in his heart, as if he had squeezed a piece of ice for three or nine days. On the way back to the mansion, He Yingqin told Chiang Kai-shek that the Ministry of National Defense had complied with the telegram order, held an emergency combat meeting, made major adjustments and deployments to the battle in the Xubeng area, and decided to merge Xuzhou's "Suppressing General" and Central China's "Suppressing General". Conducted by Bai Chongxi. Chiang Kai-shek, who was speechless all the way, asked, "What did Jiansheng say?" Seeing that Chiang Kai-shek did not express any objection, He Yingqin showed a little excitement on his face, and immediately replied: "He fully agreed, and he will take a plane to inspect Xuzhou's defense in the afternoon! Not only that, he also expressed his agreement to use Huang Wei's Twelfth Corps to transfer to Xuzhou. It was used in Shangcai, Taihe, and Fuyang areas, and he offered to use Zhang Gan's Third Corps to enter and leave Fuyang and Taihe with the Twelfth Corps. Most of the Third Corps were Guangxi troops, and he was willing to spend even his old capital! " Chiang Kai-shek slightly closed his eyes and did not express his opinion.It wasn't until the car drove into the urban area that he opened his eyes, looked at the fallen leaves of phoenix trees flying all over the sky, and said without thinking: "It's already late autumn." He Yingqin knew Chiang Kai-shek's inner conflict. He was worried that Bai Chongxi would be capricious and change his mind midway; Chiang Kai-shek's worries were not superfluous.Early the next morning, He Yingqin rushed to the official residence and reported: "Bai Chongxi left without saying goodbye. Instead of going to Xuzhou, he returned to Hankou." When Chiang Kai-shek heard this, he was furious, and immediately grabbed the phone and wanted to call Wuhan for his camp. "Jiansheng?" The phone was connected, but Chiang Kai-shek, who was in trouble, had to suppress his anger and asked softly, "Why did you run back to Hankou again if you didn't go to Xu Bang to command?" "Oh, it's the president. That's what I thought. Xu Bang is very close to Nanjing. The president can personally sit in the center and command nearby. Why bother to build a separate command organization? Besides, I'm there. It's a lot of inconvenience." Bai Chongxi pushed Chiang Kai-shek back softly and hard. "Mother Xipi!" Chiang Kai-shek was so angry that he dropped the phone and yelled, "This Bai Jian contradicts what he says, and there must be deceit in it!" He Yingqin stood there with his scalp numb and his heart trembling, fearing that Chiang Kai-shek would take his anger out on him, so he had to show his cards: "I heard that Bai Jiansheng went to Fu Hougang's Delin mansion last night and stayed there until very late..." "I've thought of this a long time ago. They want to demolish my platform!" Chiang Kai-shek went around in a circle and shouted again, "They think it's easy. It's not the seventeenth year of the Republic of China!" He Yingqin didn't expect to shirk himself The words of responsibility actually evoked Chiang Kai-shek to bring up the old story of Li, He, and Bai forcing Chiang to step down in the 17th year of the Republic of China, and he was even more frightened.He neither dared to follow Chiang Kai-shek's words, nor dared to shut up and pretend to be confused, so he had to bring the topic to Chiang Kai-shek's most anxious matter, and said in a low voice: "President, the Xu Bang war seems to be on the verge of breaking out. Now Bai Jiansheng answered the ticket, and Liu Jingfu might not be able to cope with the overall situation. Who will be in charge must be judged quickly!" In a word, it really hit Chiang Kai-shek's throat.Although Xuzhou's "General Suppression" had hundreds of thousands of troops, it could barely cope with Su Yu's East China Field Army.If Liu Bocheng's Central Plains Field Army advances eastward and joins forces with Su Yu to attack Xuzhou, then Huang Wei and Zhang Gan, the main force of the Central China "Suppression General", must be dispatched to help.To transfer Central China troops to reinforce Xu Bang, Bai Chongxi had to come to Xuzhou and Bengbu for unified command.Liu Jingfu couldn't help that stupid man. When he was sent to Xuzhou, there was a lot of trouble in the city, and there were many discussions.Some people even said: "Xuzhou is the gate of Nanjing, so you should send a tiger general to guard it. Even if you can't send a tiger, you should send a dog. How can you send a pig to guard the gate?" Zhi can't count on it, so where can I "hold the Buddha's feet" temporarily? Distraught, Chiang Kai-shek slammed the table and shouted, "I'll go by myself!" He Yingqin was stunned for a moment, and quickly pushed the boat forward: "Of course it's best for the president to command in person. The Ministry of National Defense has already prepared the battle plan." Chiang Kai-shek glanced at He Yingqin, didn't say a word for a while, walked around the living room a few times, and after calming down for a while, he said: "Well, you immediately send someone to Huludao and give Du Guangting the plan for the Xu Bang battle, and ask him to read it. Then he went to Xuzhou to command." "This..." He Yingqin didn't expect Chiang Kai-shek to change his mind for a moment, and he didn't know how to deal with it.Although Du Yuming is a leader in the army, he can be regarded as an outstanding general, but he can't replace Bai Chongxi anyway.Regardless of other things, if it is necessary to mobilize the central China army to help Xu Bang, there is nothing he can do.This is a strategic decisive battle that concerns the life and death of the party and the country. If you are not careful, you will lose everything!He Yingqin peeked at Chiang Kai-shek's unquestionable face, and thought to himself, in this fire, it's better for him to say as little as possible... "Yes." He Yingqin replied, ready to leave. "Wait a minute." Chiang Kai-shek stopped He Yingqin, "Go and tell the military and political officials to come to me, I have something to say." Half an hour later, dignitaries from the military and political circles came to the meeting one after another.Chiang Kai-shek took a sip of boiled water, looked sullenly, glanced at the crowd, and said: "The Yu Suppression has lasted for more than 20 years, and there has never been such a big setback. This Northeast campaign can be said to be the biggest in our revolutionary history." Setbacks and lessons!" As soon as the words were uttered, everyone in the audience was shocked, and the atmosphere in the venue was gloomy.Chiang Kai-shek sadly reviewed the military failures in recent years, and went on to say: "Especially in the past few months, the situation in terms of military, economic, and political aspects is indeed serious and dangerous. At this critical moment of life and death, it is our will to strengthen our will, An excellent opportunity to make contributions. However, I have observed that most senior cadres lose confidence in the future of the revolution and are shaken, thinking that the party is really in dire straits. The general senior generals today are not the cadres I lead, but the students I teach However, I couldn’t make them build up life-and-death confidence in the Three Principles of the People. This proves that my personal leadership is incompetent and my education has failed, and I cannot absolve myself of the blame for the party-state.” Speaking of this, Chiang Kai-shek's voice almost choked: "In the past two years, what distressed me the most was that many high-ranking generals were willing to be captured instead of killing themselves. Many lower-level officials were incorporated into the Communist Army after being captured, and turned around to beat themselves. This is the greatest shame in the history of our revolutionary army! If we cannot rebuild our revolutionary confidence and determination today, no matter how many troops we have and what kind of sophisticated weapons we have, we will always be wiped out by the Communist Party in the future..." Chiang Kai-shek picked up a square towel from the conference table, wiped away the tears overflowing from the corners of his eyes, and his expression changed from sorrow to passion: "To be honest, our current situation in the sea, land, and air force, as well as in all aspects of politics and economy Strength, which one is not more than several times that of the Communist Party? Therefore, I ask everyone to believe in me and believe that I must be sure to turn the crisis into safety. I ask everyone to strengthen mutual trust, establish self-confidence, and be sure that the Three People's Principles have invincible power, and they will definitely be able to Get the final victory!" Chiang Kai-shek's eyes lingered on everyone's face one by one, and then brought the topic to the imminent matter: "Next, let the Ministry of National Defense introduce the Xu Bang battle plan." With the opening of the huge curtain, the situation map of the Xubeng area was revealed. Standing under the map, Guo Rugui, the powerful director of the third hall, held a mahogany indicator stick and described the combat policy of "guarding the river must defend the Huaihe River", especially emphasizing: "In order to achieve this policy, we must shrink the two wings and change the current situation where Xuzhou is the center. The defensive posture of "one point and two lines" in the center further concentrates forces between Xu and Bang, and implements offensive and defensive along both sides of Jinpu Road, so as to wait for an opportunity to fight a decisive battle with the Communist Army in Xuzhou and Bengbu." "What else do you think?" Chiang Kai-shek inspected the crowd. The venue was silent, and everyone was silent. "I want to emphasize three more points." Chiang Kai-shek's face was livid, and when no one answered, he cleared his throat and said word by word at record speed, "First, the loss of Northeast China will endanger North China and Central China. Can the whole country be spared?" If it collapses, it depends on the next three months; second, Xuzhou and Bengbu are the gateways of the capital, and this battle is related to the survival of the party and the country, so the whole country and the whole army must have a unified command and go all out; The Twelfth Corps of Weiwei gathered in the Zhumadian area and marched eastward to participate in the Battle of Xubang." As he spoke, Chiang Kai-shek pushed the water glass in front of him and stood up: "Tell Bai Chongxi that it is my order!" The ground is trembling, the sky is shaking. Cars, artillery vehicles, and armored vehicles made harsh noises, rolling up smoke and dust in the sky.From a distance, it looks like a desert storm. Huang Wei, the commander of the Twelfth Corps, stood on the top of the high city, with heavy eyebrows flying and leopard eyes shining, watching tens of thousands of mechanized troops wrapped in steel rumbled eastward.The corner of his mouth turned up slightly inadvertently, causing the mole on his right cheek to rise abruptly, which is quite majestic like "the wind is rustling, the water is cold, and the strong man will never return". The Huangwei Corps was formed in Hankou two months ago, but the initial candidate for the chief was not Huang Wei, but Hu Lian.Because the Corps is composed of the Eighteenth Army, the Tenth Army, the Fourteenth Army and the Eighty-fifth Army, Hu Lian served as the commander of the two main forces of the Corps, the Eighteenth Army and the Tenth Army. It is a matter of course, and Chiang Kai-shek also has this intention.However, due to factional and command problems, Hu Lian did not carry out Bai Chongxi's orders many times, so that both Bai and Hu complained to Chiang Kai-shek, and even threatened to resign.Under such circumstances, Chiang Kai-shek asked Chen Cheng who was the appropriate commander of the Twelfth Corps.Chen Cheng replied, it must be Huang.The reason is simple; in the 11th and 18th Divisions known as the "Civil Engineering Department" where Chen Cheng made his fortune, when Huang Wei was the brigade commander, Hu Lian was the battalion commander; when Huang Wei was the division commander, Hu Lian was the brigade commander.No one but Huang Wei could restrain Hu Lian. Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek agreed, summoned Huang Wei, and entertained him with a family banquet. When Long En came to Zexia, although Huang Wei was sincere and frightened, he didn't want to be proud. Huang Wei's position at the time was the principal of the new Military Academy of the Ministry of National Defense.Preparations for this school began in September 1947. It was modeled on the West Point Military Academy system in the United States to train officers of the navy, land and air forces.School equipment is provided by the United States, and American consultants have also arrived.However, because the Ministry of Education of the Kuomintang could not provide a professor team for this school, the Air Force and the Navy were unwilling to let this school replace their own school, and more importantly, the attack of the People's Liberation Army brought the Kuomintang battlefield to the brink of collapse; so Huang Wei went through winter, summer, spring and autumn, After working hard for a year, he was still a bachelor principal, and he didn't even recruit a single student.Nevertheless, as far as Huang Wei's original intention is concerned, he is still willing to run a school rather than lead troops.It's not that Huang Wei is afraid of death, he is looking at safeguarding the long-term interests of the party and the country; at the same time, he graduated from a normal school in his early years and taught for several years. . Facing the simple four dishes and one soup on the table, Huang Wei hesitated and didn't know how to eat.He said to Chiang Kai-shek: "Principal, I have been away from the army for a long time, and it is difficult to lead the army." Knowing what Huang Wei was thinking, Chiang Kai-shek put a spoonful of bamboo shoots and tofu soup into Huang Wei's bowl and said, "War is the most important task now. Nothing can be done unless the Communist Party is wiped out. You can't start from your own Come and consider." Huang Wei could no longer shirk, so he put forward a condition. "After this battle, I'll go back to run the school. I'll go to the Twelfth Corps for a transition, and the commander of the Corps should still be given to Hu Lian." Chiang Kai-shek agreed and let Hu Lian temporarily serve as the deputy commander of the 12th Corps. Only then did Huang Wei move his chopsticks. Unexpectedly, Hu Lian not only didn't appreciate it, but got angry and pulled the ladder.As soon as Huang Wei returned to Wuhan, Hu Lian said that he had a toothache and asked to recover from his illness; then he asked for leave on the grounds that his father was seriously ill, and he never returned, like Huang He.Not only that, Hu Lian's confidant, Yang Botao, the commander of the 18th Army, also gave up his picks and went back to his hometown in Hunan to "be married after a long absence" with his wife.Huang Wei had no choice but to beg Hu Lian to come forward, and mobilized five division commanders to write a joint letter, and then "invited" Yang Botao back. What's even more useless than this is that just after the establishment of the Corps, Liu Bocheng was asked to lead the "ox nose" to the mountainous area in western Henan. It was rolling in the wind, crawling in the rain, rumbling, and turned for more than a thousand miles like an armed parade.There was not a serious battle, but it made people tired and complained. Just at this time, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the 12th Corps to gather eastward and participate in the Battle of Xu Bang.Only then did Huang Wei regroup, vowing to wash away his humiliation in the new decisive battle, and to spit out all the internal and external bad breath he received after taking office. Huang Wei didn't doubt his commanding ability, but felt that the gloomy weather was a fly in the ointment. If it rained again, his mechanized troops would be stuck in mud and become a burden of steel.Furthermore, the preparation work was too hasty.It only took a week from accepting the order to assemble eastward to the troops rushing to Zhumadian one after another.Before he had time to rest and take a breath, the urgent telegrams sent from Nanjing, Xuzhou, and Wuhan were like air-dropped bombs, and exploded on Huang Wei's head in turn.Huang Baitao's corps had been surrounded by Huaye in the Nianzhuang area to the east of Xuzhou. An urgent telegram was like twelve gold medals, urging Huang Wei to rush to the aid of Xuzhou; so that he could not even convene a military meeting to make deployments, so he waved his hand. in. However, once the army is dispatched, the wheels are rolling, the engines are rumbling, the shiny black helmets line the American guns, and the river is as vast and endless, Huang Wei's heart still cannot restrain the heat.The metal sparks struck by the steel team ignited the heat in his heart, his chest swelled, and the fire of hope was burning.All the troubles, unhappiness, and depression accumulated in the bottom of my heart for a long time were reduced to ashes in this burning fire. Amidst the flowing steel, flowing noise, and flowing hustle and bustle, Huang Wei took extremely vigorous steps, stepped off the city gate that looked like a military parade, and stepped onto an American jeep, like a teacher returning to the podium after a long absence, solemn and confident Said: "Notify the headquarters of the Corps, let's go!" As the saying goes: "Man's calculation is not as good as God's calculation, and God's calculation is not as good as heaven's calculation." Huang Wei only knows that the praying mantis is in front, but he doesn't know that the oriole is behind.How could he, who was self-willed, know that everything about him had already been calculated by Mao Zedong and Liu Bocheng. As early as the day when Chiang Kai-shek issued the order, Mao Zedong, who was thousands of miles away, sent Deng Xiaoping and Liu Bocheng almost at the same time a telegram titled "Donghai", that is, a telegram on November 1st—— As for how Mao Zedong caught the pulse of the Kuomintang and penetrated the central nervous system of the Kuomintang, don't say that Huang Wei couldn't figure it out, even Chiang Kai-shek didn't solve the mystery until the day he died. What surprised Huang Wei even more in the future was that the four armies of his corps had only received the order, and before they arrived at Zhumadian to assemble, Liu Bocheng made careful arrangements for flanking, tailing, and blocking his eastward advance, and on November 2. Telegram to Mao Zedong—— Having arranged Huang Wei's cemetery in advance, Liu Bocheng turned his sharp eyes on Chiang Kai-shek's main artery, the Jinpu Railway. On November 3rd, Liu Bocheng came to the Nakano command post in Dushu Town, Western Henan Province.From dusk to night, his figure never left the huge map on the wall, and the high-power magnifying glass moved and wandered on the map with his hand... Suddenly, his hand stopped.As the magnifying glass moved back, the two big characters "Su County" gradually became eye-catching, filling the entire field of vision! Li Da and Deng Zihui sat at the table quietly, without disturbing Liu Bocheng, just fixed their eyes on the wandering magnifying glass, pondering Liu Bocheng's thoughts; occasionally looked at each other, exchanged insights and opinions with their eyes, and returned to the magnifying glass superior. The three bowls of rice were reheated several times, but they were still there, motionless. The enlarged "Su County" attracted Li Da and Deng Zihui to stand up. Liu Bocheng turned around and walked to the table, drew a big cross on the table with the handle of the magnifying glass, and said: "I used to say that dogs that eat shit cannot do without toilets; Chiang Kai-shek cannot do war without railways and roads. You see, These are the Longhai and Jinpu railways. Our army captured Jinan and cut off the Jinpu Road to the north of Xuzhou; then captured Zhengzhou and cut off the Longhai Road to the west of Xuzhou. Chiang Kai-shek suddenly panicked and hurriedly moved his troops around.” As he said that, Liu Bocheng picked up a bowl of rice and placed it at the intersection of the two "railways": "He shrank Qiu Qingquan and Li Mi's corps to Xuzhou; Move closer to Xuzhou; then, he ordered Sun Yuanliang and Liu Ruming to go south to Bengbu." Liu Bocheng placed the second bowl of rice in Bengbu between Nanjing and Xuzhou, and lifted the third bowl of rice and placed it heavily in Huaibei, west of Jinpu Road. Ping Yuan, "That's not enough. He transferred the Huangwei Corps eastward to Taihe and Fuyang. What's the purpose?" "Keep the Jinpu Road between Nanjing and Xuzhou." Li Da and Deng Zihui said almost at the same time. "Yes." Liu Bocheng said, "This railway has now become the only land supply line for the Kuomintang army, and it is also the lifeline of Chiang Kai-shek. Of course, he is afraid that we will cut it off. Not only that, but his wishful thinking is to shrink the strength of the two wings, relying on Jinpu Lu Xunji will fight me decisively! But, ah, he's 'running all the tricks, but he missed Qingqing's life', and he wants to gang up, but pouted his buttocks to reveal a fatal weakness." Li Da picked up a magnifying glass and placed it between Xuzhou and Bengbu: "This is Su County!" Deng Zihui, who is good at Go, nodded his head and said, "Okay! We just happened to 'fly' a piece and make an 'eye' in Su County." "It's exactly this move." Liu Bocheng continued, "As long as Su County is captured in one fell swoop, the enemy's center will be cut off, causing our army to attack Xuzhou. As a result, on the one hand, Sun Yuanliang and Liu Ruming's corps will come to the north because of this, It is convenient for our army to annihilate them during the movement; on the other hand, Qiu Qingquan's corps will also be forced to look south, which reduces the pressure on Huaye from their reinforcements to the east. And the most wonderful thing is that taking Su County, Jinpu The two railways, Longhai and Longhai, became out-and-out crosses. Chiang Kai-shek believed in God. This time, he really wanted to hang himself on the cross in Xuzhou. As for us, we happened to use this cross to kill the enemy in Huaihai. Several large regiments on the battlefield are divided into three bowls of rice, and then eaten bowl by bowl." That night, Liu Bocheng decided to send a power call to the Military Commission and Chen Yi and Deng Xiaoping, in the name of him, Deputy Political Commissar Deng Zihui, and Chief of Staff Li Da, to make a formal proposal— ... Jiang bandits defended Xuzhou with heavy troops, and their supply line was only one Jinpu Road. Fearing that I would cut it off, they ordered Sun Yuanliang's corps to go to Su County (Jiang Ri has all arrived today), and the two enemies of Qiu [Qingquan] and Liu Ruming also moved as Chen Deng expected.As long as there are no major unfavorable changes, the main force of Chen and Deng should strive to first cut off the railway between Xu and Su, creating a situation where the Sun Corps is cut off and will attack Xuzhou, that is, the method of cutting off the enemy's central line from the southwestern main line, which is the focus of our army's battle, will be very effective. .In this case, not only the Sun Corps may be able to aid in the north, so that our army can be wiped out during the movement; even the Qiu Corps may be forced to look south, reducing the pressure on its east aid, which will be of great help to the entire campaign.Please Chen Deng think carefully and act decisively. When the telegram was sent out, Liu Bocheng packed his bags and prepared to arrive in Huaibei early to join Chen Yi and Deng Xiaoping and "wait" for Huang Wei together. Sixty miles to the west of Shijiazhuang, there is an inconspicuous small village near the foot of Taihang Mountain, called Xibaipo.The Hutuo River has flowed quietly from the south of the village for thousands of years, across the North China Plain, and into the Bohai Sea, but it has not taken away any stories about the small village, and Xibaipo has no intention of recording its own name in the annals of history.It was not until Mao Zedong set up his headquarters here that this small village with only a hundred families attracted the attention of the world. In a courtyard in Xibaipo, Mao Zedong, Zhu De, and Zhou Enlai sat around the table. There were three telegrams on the table, from three directions on the Huaihai battlefield. One is from Liu Bocheng, and he insists on attacking Su County.One was from Chen Yi and Deng Xiaoping, proposing to capture the area between Su County and Xuzhou.The other letter was from Su Yu, who, on the basis of analyzing the battle situation, suggested that after annihilating Huang Baitao's corps, turn the main force to the front lines of Xuzhou and Guxian, force the enemy to fight us, and strive to wipe out a large number of enemies in the north of the Yangtze River, so as to prepare for the future crossing of the south of the Yangtze River Clear the way.To achieve this, in addition to strong support from the rear, the key issue is "should immediately destroy the Xubang section of the railway to delay the enemy's southward movement." After reading the telegram, Zhu De pondered for a while, and said: "The three headquarters all advocate cutting off the Jinpu Xubeng section and keeping the enemy's main force around Xuzhou to annihilate it. Another plan to 'close the door and beat the dog' after the World War II." Zhou Enlai: "This also reflects an exciting and extremely touching fact-although my three headquarters, Chen, Deng, Liu, Deng, Li, Su, and Tan, are separated by thousands of miles, they have already become targets. A consistent and organic whole. This will create a huge fighting force for the realization of the second plan of "close the door and beat the dog." Mao Zedong stacked the three telegrams together, "Yes. This force is irresistible to the enemy. Just after the battle started, we took three big steps. First, Huaye captured Jinan, and we set the scope of the Huaihai Campaign in southern Shandong. Later, when Zhongye captured Zhengzhou, we expanded the scale of the campaign and added a battle of Xu Bang; now, as Zhongye and Huaye got closer, the Battle of Huaihai and the Battle of Xu Bang formed a unified battle. As a whole, it became a decisive battle on the southern front. Prior to this, we assigned Chen Yi and Deng Xiaoping the task of attacking Sun Yuanliang or Liu Ruming's corps first; Don’t dare to think about it!” Zhou Enlai said: "The chairman dare not think of it, and Chiang Kai-shek of the Kuomintang is even more unexpected. This is also called surprise!" "Yes. It's called surprise!" Mao Zedong continued, "Today's Huaihai is no longer yesterday's Huaihai, and an unprecedented decisive battle is about to take place." After all, Mao Zedong added a line to the telegram to Chen Yi and Deng Xiaoping—— We should concentrate all our efforts (including the three, Guang, and two verticals) to capture Su County, annihilate Sun Yuanliang, control the Xubeng section, and cut off the enemy's retreat. The sooner the better, the most important thing is to look forward to it. A magnificent war spectacle appeared on the Huaibei Great Plain. On tens of kilometers of land from Runan and Zhengyang to Xincai and Fuyang, roads and dirt roads, large and small, including field ridges, instantly became rivers of people and horses.If you look down from the air, the surging rivers on the main road are gray, and the rushing rivers on the countless small roads are khaki.灰色的河与土黄色的河犬牙交错，竞相西进，像田径场上身着不同颜色运动服的劲旅在平行的跑道上展开马拉松比赛。 起先，灰色的河流一路领先。随着时间的推移，一条条土黄色的河流在冲刺，渐渐追赶上来。 这是一场勇气和毅力的竞争。 这是一次脚板子与汽车轮子的大赛。 六纵“襄阳营”营长谭笑林回忆当时的情况，这样说：“当时，生活中的许多概念，对我们来说，已经变成不太明确的东西了。今天是几号？不知道。这里是什么地界？不知道。我们经常是到达一个宿营地后，吃顿饭，睡上几个小时，起来又走。就是敌机来了，只要它不低飞扫射，就谁也不去理它。重要的是前进。部队上上下下只有一个信念——人不卸甲，马不停蹄，追上敌人。敌人是谁？就是蒋介石嫡系精锐部队之一的黄维兵团。不过，那时候我们还不知道这已经是举世闻名的淮海战役的前奏，反正满心里就是一个追字。遇上河流，裤腿一挽，有时鞋也不脱，就哗哗哗地蹚过去了。天寒地冷，许多同志的脚都冻裂了。可是大家顾不上这些了。那情景，用'万里赴戎机，关山度若飞'来形容一点不假。转眼间，我们就过了平汉路，过了河南省，到了安徽境内……” 二纵司令员陈再道是个粗人，可说起追击黄维的细节却很感人：“纵队接到追击命令时，还在大别山深处的夏店地区，要经过礼山县的宣化店、罗山县的定远店和光山县的仙居店，才能到达淮北平原。大家觉得上了平原就没大问题了，谁知淮南、淮北气候差别那么大。部队一进淮北，立刻感到寒气逼人。由于没有棉衣，病号一下子增多。前面的路还很长，不但要渡过汝河、洪河、沙河，而且天又下起雨雪，这对于身穿单衣的指战员来说，是对意志坚忍程度的考验。到了鲁台，豫皖苏分局书记宋任穷想尽一切办法给我们解决了一万二千套棉衣、二万四千双鞋子。其中有些棉衣是豫皖苏军区机关和地方干部从自己身上脱下来送给我们的。穿上这些带着体温的棉衣，我们没有别的话说，只一个字——追！” 黄维兵团仗着机械化，一开始遥遥领先。但正如刘伯承、邓小平料想的那样，到了后来，一进入黄泛区，他的机械就“化”在沼泽泥潭中了。贫瘠的黄泛区似乎有意要挽留这支财大气粗的队伍，用陈年的泥沼、苇滩、沟河“款待”着大大小小的车轮子。于是，一个个车轮醉了，一辆辆汽车、坦克、装甲车瘫软在泥泞中，只好人人下车，四处砍伐树木、拆老乡的门板垫路，垫一段，走一段。浩浩荡荡的十数万大军，顿时成了伐木造路队伍，忙活了整整两天，才过了这段沼泽地。 而中野一纵二十旅却利用这两天的时间，在旅长吴忠的率领下，轻装赤脚，赶过了汽车轮子，抢先到达洪河东岸，在埠口、庙湾、杨埠构筑了阻击工事，等候黄维的到来。 但吴忠万万没有想到，只因黄维的一个闪念，竟使他苦心筑起的洪河工事，成了东方马其诺防线。 本来，黄维兵团距洪河不过五六十里，可吴忠的二十旅足足等了四天。工事一修再修，敌人却迟迟不来。只是每天天一亮，敌机就来轰炸，轰隆轰隆干得很卖劲，使人觉得黄维马上就要驾到似的。直到十一日下午，忽然有地方武装的同志顶着风沙赶来报告，敌人已经从下游绕过洪河，向阜阳方向去了！原来二十旅派出的侦察员和地方上派来的通信员先后牺牲在路上，这战报送迟了。 “好个刁滑的兔崽子！”吴忠狠狠骂了一声，立刻命令部队全力追击。一时间，部队像决口的洪河，滚滚向着颍河冲去。 吴忠叫人打开侦察用的报话机，里面似乎所有的敌人都在呼叫：“火速前进！火速前进！”显然，这是敌人各级指挥部在催促他们的部队，去强占颍河上的阜阳渡口，再从那里直扑徐蚌线。 天已断黑，部队仍在嚓嚓嚓地急行军。 淮海战役前线指挥部的电报到了。电报指示：我中野主力正前往徐蚌间宿县作战，黄维此举是与我争夺徐蚌线。二十旅的阻击行动将直接影响战役的全局，指挥部要求二十旅务必堵住黄维。 吴忠和旅里领导开了一次紧急会议，打着手电筒在地图上计算，越计算越觉得时间紧迫，任务艰难。黄维兵团从新蔡直插阜阳，走的是二百多里的“弓弦”；我从庙湾到界首，再去太和、阜阳，必须走三百多里的“弓背”。况敌已先我前进，我又如何先敌到达？倘若不能先敌到达实施阻击，则不但使我正在赶往蒙城、涡阳一带迎击敌人的二、六纵队陷于被动；更重要的是，一旦让黄维插到徐蚌线，就将妨碍中野主力攻占宿县，影响整个淮海战役的全局！ 一切的一切，取决于时间。但时间已经没有了。要超越时间完成空间的跨度，只有依靠速度。然而速度从何而来？ horse riding?全旅的马集中起来还不够一个连骑的。乘船？吴忠的眼里亮起希望之光！部队离颍河上的界首镇不远了。颍河自西北流向东南，阜阳正在下游；而且近来多雨，水深流急；再加风向西北，如果能在界首登船，顺风顺水，一夜便可赶到阜阳。 但是，船呢？ 夜深了，部队仍在急进。 一声战马嘶鸣，豫皖苏军区司令员张国华赶来了。 吴忠立刻迎上去，把情况汇报了一遍。 张国华笑了：“我就是为这事来的。我们旱地走不赢，就走水路。敌人当土行者，我们就做浪里飞。” 吴忠一拍大腿：“司令员，有船啦？！” 张国华点点头：“总部首长已经为你们想到了，今天下午就发来电报，让我们在界首准备好船只。” “嘿！”吴忠一高兴，回身给警卫员来了个“背口袋”。 清晨，部队赶到界首时，远远就望见一排排木船帆樯林立，千百名船工手持篙桨整装待发。 部队一上船，船队立刻起锚升帆。尽管顺风顺水，人人还想快上加快。战士们顾不上日夜行军疲劳，会摇橹的和船工并肩快摇；不会使船的就用圆锹、脸盆，甚至用瓷缸和双手划水。于是白帆鼓足风力，船头劈开轻浪，一路把二十旅送到阜阳渡口。 黄维兵团终于落在后面了。 接下来的自然是一场恶战。 吴忠后来回忆说：“那天天刚亮，颍河对岸数十里地带烟尘滚滚，黄维率领着四个军和一个快速纵队过来了。开始他们以为挡在前面的不过是地方游击队，就先来老一套的炮火轰击，跟着大摇大摆地用橡皮船过河。后来碰了几次钉子，才懂得好歹，把几百门火炮摆到河岸上，连续轰了一个多小时。徐州、南京的飞机也一批批赶来，拼命扔炸弹，好像要倾家荡产，过了今日不要明天了。大概他们觉得我们这边的人即使炸不飞也都给埋在黄土里了，就组织了一次大规模的抢渡。船刚到河心，我绵延几里的地堡工事中各种兵器一齐开火，一下子把他们打得人仰船翻，乌血染得颍河腥臭腥臭。黄维见正面攻不动，就想向南绕过我们的前沿阵地。可我们早有准备了，他刚向南移，我们就走在他的前头，沿河向南阻击。他想停下来强渡，我们又迎头给他一击。那个仗打得呀，颍河就像开了锅的水！敌人的尸体呀，就像在开水里乱滚的元宵！……” 整整三天，黄维兵团被死死钉在颍河岸边。 值得铭记的是，吴忠以一个旅顶住了一个兵团，双方兵力对比为一比十五。以至毛泽东日后说起吴忠，常常会用这句话——“吴（无）忠者，有忠也。”