Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Breakthrough and Encirclement

Entering June, Chiang Kai-shek was no longer impatient. He decided to use 193 brigades (divisions) of about 1.6 million people, which accounted for 80% of the Kuomintang's regular army, to launch a full-scale attack on the CCP's liberated areas. "The agreement is nothing!" Chiang Kai-shek angrily shouted at Chief of Staff Chen Cheng and others.He pushed aside a large pile of documents on his desk, such as the Minutes of the Talks between the Government and Representatives of the Communist Party of China, and straightened his neck conceitedly, saying: "The Communist Party has no right to bargain with me! I have already negotiated with Marshall, and through him I will send the final report to the Communist Party of China. Ultimatum. The Communist army must immediately withdraw from the south of Longhai Road, the entire Jiaoji Road, and most of the Northeast... It is time, the longer the delay, the more difficult it will be! We must make a quick decision, and strive to achieve it within 3 to 6 months , First eliminate the Communist army in the pass, and then solve the Northeast issue."

Today, sixty years later, even middle school students understand that Chiang Kai-shek lost because he only saw military strength, and did not take into account political factors such as the support of the people and the army. General's mistake.This stroke is a lesson for the Chiang family dynasty, and it is also a meaningful inspiration for all Chinese descendants, especially those who intend to make waves in politics and military affairs. As far as military strategy is concerned, Lao Jiang's remarks are not bad as rhetoric, but when it comes to specific military deployment, it seems not so practical.When Chen Cheng exchanged views with Defense Minister Bai Chongxi in private, he raised questions invariably.However, Chiang Kai-shek's arrogance is like a big river, and there are so many seconders, who can stop it?Of course, no one wants to stop it.In order to carry out this heroism to everyone, especially those grassroots personnel who will face the Communist army head-to-head, Chiang Kai-shek specially came to the political directors of the appeasement districts and the officers of the special forces battalion to give a political speech, telling them " Inject chicken blood".He said: "You don't have to worry, the government is absolutely sure. We have the support of our allies, the air force, the navy, and heavy weapons and special forces. If we can cooperate well and use them flexibly, we will be able to win the battle quickly and bring the traitors to justice. wipe out."

On the Yan'an side, after receiving an ultimatum from the US special envoy Marshall, Mao Zedong knew that a major war was inevitable as he had expected.At that time, Chiang Kai-shek had the confidence, with a total force of 4.3 million, and received all the equipment of the 1 million Japanese troops, not to mention the US aid, which was worth US$1.33 billion in the first half of 1946 alone.In addition, the Americans directly equipped 936 aircraft for the Kuomintang Air Force and handed over 131 naval vessels.From the end of the Anti-Japanese War to June 1946, as many as 540,000 Kuomintang troops were transported by sea and air from the United States to the front lines of the civil war. At the working conference of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Mao Zedong said in a strong local accent: "There are many families, many guns, and airplanes and cannons." Many, he wants to fight, we have no choice but to accompany him. Don’t be intimidated by his aggressiveness. Yes, he has what Chiang Kai-shek has, but we don’t, but what we have, he doesn’t have. What we don’t have, we can get; What Chiang Kai-shek does not have, he will never get again! After a big battle, it is estimated that within six months or so, if our army wins a big victory, we will definitely be able to negotiate a peace; Then there will be no peace! Therefore, we must resolutely defeat Chiang’s attack and strive for a peaceful future.”

For several days in a row, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China spent a tense and busy atmosphere.Big and small meetings followed one after another, everyone met, and the daily greetings were omitted.This is especially true for Peng Dehuai. Chief of Staff Ye Jianying went to the military dispatching department in Beiping. He had to devote himself to drafting the south and north battle plans against the Kuomintang attack with Boss Zhu and the staff of the Military Commission. Discuss at the Military Council.In a blink of an eye the day is here. After dinner, Peng Dehuai went through the entire plan that had been completed in his mind, and then walked to the venue with his hands behind his back.Stepping into the door, you will meet Mao Zedong and Yang Shangkun, secretary-general of the Military Commission.

Mao Zedong pinched a document in his hand and said: "Old Peng, Chiang Kai-shek is going to attack Li Xiannian and the others!" Peng Dehuai hurriedly took the document, and upon seeing it, it turned out to be an enemy situation report from the Ministry of Intelligence. On it, Liu Zhi, director of the Zhengzhou Appeasement Office of the Kuomintang, received a telegram from Chiang Kai-shek to convene the Fourth Appeasement District, the Fifth Appeasement District, the provincial governments of Henan and Shaanxi, and the Party headquarters. The main person in charge and the officers above the division of the troops under the jurisdiction of the Sui Department studied the minutes of the meeting and the detailed deployment of troops to deploy the siege of the Central Plains Military Region.Peng Dehuai stared at the document, and couldn't help walking closer to the map with his feet.He meticulously found every place name from the map, and with that dedication, it seemed that nothing outside existed.During this period, Zhu De, Liu Shaoqi, Ren Bishi, Ye Jianying and others also arrived one after another.Mao Zedong greeted everyone and the noise of the guards coming in and out to deliver tea and water did not affect Peng Dehuai's concentration in the slightest.After finding out the names of the places, he suddenly focused on a certain point, obsessively in a daze.Yang Shangkun was in a hurry.He knew that for Boss Peng, the result of every thought was a big battle that turned the world upside down.If you don't remind, it won't end easily.He had no choice but to approach Peng Dehuai and remind him in a low voice, "Everyone is here..." Peng Dehuai reluctantly looked away from the map.

"Is there any news from the Central Plains Military Region?" Peng Dehuai asked Yang Shangkun.Yang replied that not yet.Peng Dehuai buried his head and remained silent for a while.At this moment, Mao Zedong waved his hand to keep everyone quiet, and signaled Yang Shangkun to pass on the "Enemy Situation Report" to everyone. He himself unhurriedly took out a pack of "Daoshou" brand cigarettes produced by Shanghai Jishi Tobacco Factory. Peel off the tin foil, take out one between your fingers, strike a fire to light a cigarette, and gently blow out the embers of the matchstick... This coherent action is full of charm.He stared at the red-hot matchstick until it was completely extinguished, and then moved to the silent faces in the hall.This is the effect of the "enemy situation report".Everyone is thinking grimly.Mao Zedong was also thinking, but he smiled and held up the pack of "Daoshou" cigarettes, and said: "You can take what you want to eat. 'Daoshou' is a good brand. It was brought by Chen Yi last month. Let's eat it." Eat and see how it tastes..." The air immediately loosened.

Mao Zedong did not mention the Central Plains Military Region, but asked Commander-in-Chief Zhu to introduce the plan first. Boss Zhu got up and adjusted his military uniform, walked to the map, and reported to the Military Commission the newly drafted battle plan for the South and North lines.In fact, this is a further refinement of the collective vision of the Military Commission. There is no need to elaborate on the background materials, and I will go straight to the topic: "On the northern line, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei and Jinsui Field Army and a part of the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Field Army will take half a year or more. In the shortest time, seize the "three roads" of the northern section of Pinghan Road, Zhengtai, and Tongpu, and seize the "four cities" of Baoding, Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan, and Datong, so that the liberated areas of Shanxi-Sui, Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei, and Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu On the southern front, the main force of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong Field Army and the Shandong Field Army attacked the east of Henan and the Xuzhou-Bengbu section of the Jinpu Road, focusing on annihilating the enemy's vital forces in the field; the Central China Field Army attacked the Jinpu Road from Bengbu to Pukou In the future, if the situation is favorable, the main forces of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan and Shandong field armies will be used to advance towards the Dabie Mountains, Anqing, and Pukou..."

Finally, after Zhu De finished his introduction, Peng Dehuai got up. "Let me add one more thing," he said, "our plan is in opposition to Lao Jiang's. Lao Jiang's attack focuses on the north, and we, on the contrary, focus on the south, so that he can hit the air with a single blow! The entire Jiang army was thrown to the north, facing it with its buttocks, and the Jiang army was passive before turning around. At this time, the Central Plains troops broke through to the north. If the breakout is blocked, they will prepare to establish a base in the Kuomintang area..."

Having said that, the Military Commission's confidential staff report came in.When everyone saw the beads of sweat on his head, they guessed that the situation was urgent, and it was probably related to the Central Plains Military Region.Sure enough, he brought an urgent telegram from Zheng Weisan, Li Xiannian, Wang Zhen and others from the Central Plains Bureau: "...The situation in our district has indeed developed to the point where we must quickly break through the siege. Our original plan to break out to the south is separated by the Yangtze River. Breaking through the encirclement to the east is difficult because the Kuomintang has a strong force on the Jinpu Road, and it is difficult to achieve the goal; crossing the Yellow River from the vicinity of Jieshou to the north is extremely dangerous because there are many rivers that cannot be waded. Two roads to break through. But these two roads have recently lost one of the two roads because the recalcitrant army has captured Woxin and Sui area. If the recalcitrant army recently occupies the key points of Yingshan, Anlu, and Yunmeng, they will form a column The collective breakthrough route is completely lost. In this case, although some troops can break through in units of brigades and regiments, since there are not many scattered breakthrough routes, half of the troops may not be able to break through. If we break out of the encirclement only when the deployment is complete and we officially attack me in an all-round way, I will be in a passive position not only strategically but also tactically. That situation is hard to imagine. Therefore, I propose: the central government can allow us to start implementing the main force breakout plan at the end of this month, That is to say, divide into two columns through central Hubei, break out to southern Shaanxi and the Wudang Mountains in the north and south respectively, and then transfer to the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia border area."

One stone stirred up thousands of waves, and the meeting room immediately boiled over. Zhu De thoughtfully exchanged views with Liu Shaoqi nearby: "I see that it is not too late, and we should act immediately. Chiang Kai-shek's intentions are very clear!" Liu Shaoqi nodded again and again: "Since he has already broken his face, we have nothing to worry about. He is the one to blame, not me. In a fight, he will lose the support of the people!" Ren Bishi suggested whether to allow Zhou Enlai and Ye Jianying to negotiate with the Kuomintang again through the military investigation department to expose the conspiracy of the Kuomintang and Chiang Kai-shek for false peace talks and a real civil war, which will have an impact on the international community and make Lao Jiang politically untenable and completely passive , which will be more beneficial for future military operations to win the support of the international community and domestic people.

When everyone was discussing, Peng Dehuai kept his ears open and did not express his opinion for a long time.At this moment, he saw Mao Zedong's gaze on him, so he raised his hand and said, "Are you still discussing? No need to discuss it!" Everyone fell silent, and Zhu De asked him what he thought. "Is it politics?" Peng Dehuai looked directly at Ren Bishi, "By defeating Chiang Kai-shek's siege deployment and highlighting our tens of thousands of troops, we can talk about politics! We have knives on our necks, what are we waiting for? Hurry up and order Zheng, Li, Wang and other comrades to pre-emptively attack and maneuver the enemy first, before the enemy has time to complete the encirclement, catch him by surprise and break through the net!" Two days later, on June 23, in the name of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Mao Zedong personally planned to send an urgent telegram to the Central Plains Military Region: "The telegram was received on the 21st. What I saw is very good. I agree to break through immediately. The sooner the better, don't have any worries. Survival comes first, victory comes first. For future actions, everything is up to you to decide, do not ask for instructions, so as not to delay the fighter..." Bai Chongxi has always been confident in the military, and this time is no exception.At this moment, he bent down and got out of the black car, adjusted his clothes with his hands in white gloves, then strode up the stone steps of the Ministry of Defense with his chest out and his abdomen in, and walked through the tall corridor with his consistent good military posture.Along the way, he walked calmly, with a straight posture, and he never squinted except for raising his hand to salute the straight sentinels by the roadside.Finally, he stepped into the combat command hall of the Ministry of Defense.The senior participants had obviously been waiting for a long time. Bai Chongxi made an appearance in front of the door, and everyone immediately stood up with a snap of their heels. Bai Chongxi looked around with satisfaction, and immediately announced: "The president has decided that the national army will attack the CCP's central China, Shandong, eastern Henan, and northern Henan in early July! The combat meeting will be held at 9 o'clock tomorrow, and the following departments will be telegraphed immediately: Army Commander-in-Chief Gu Zhu Tong, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Chen Cheng, Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force Zhou Zhirou, Commander-in-Chief of Joint Logistics Huang Zhenqiu; Director Xue Yue and Chief of Staff Chen Shixi of the Suizhou Administration in Xuzhou; Zhao Zili; Li Mo'an, Wang Yaowu, Liu Ruming, Sun Zhen, Zhou Jing, Wang Lingji, commanders of the first, second, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh appeasement zones, and Hu Zongnan, commander of the first war zone..." Half an hour later, Hu Zongnan walked up to Chief of Staff Fan Hanjie holding the telegram from the Ministry of National Defense, and said with ulterior motives: "The old man has made a move! Our war zone has a heavy responsibility for the Communist Army in northern Shaanxi. Hurry up and say hello to Wang Zhonglian, Liu Kan and Dong Zhao." With one voice, shrink the troops, strictly prevent the blockade, and never allow the Central Plains Communist Party troops to set foot in southern Shaanxi!" Fan Hanjie slapped his finger on the table knowingly: "Good advice! Others don't have to worry, the most terrible thing is Wang Zhen's department. This person went south from northern Shaanxi a year ago, and this time it is likely to go north this time, and southern Shaanxi is The only way!" Hu Zongnan's face became tense for a while.After Fan Hanjie made such a point, he suddenly doubled his premonition of the seriousness of the problem.After concentrating for a long time, he said slowly: "If this Wang Zhen is just going north by way, I don't have to worry about it. I'm afraid that he will lie down as soon as he arrives in southern Shaanxi... The Communist Party's specialty is to play the picture of ordinary people." As far as I know, Wang Zhen is also a master. Once he establishes a foothold in southern Shaanxi, he will be able to manage a world in as little as three months or as long as a year. At that time, he will form a pincer attack on me with the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region There will be endless troubles!" Hu Zongnan became more and more unable to let go of it, "How about this, let Secretary Xiong handle the matter of greeting Wang, Liu, and Dong ministries, and sit down with me to make a careful calculation." Said that Cao Cao Cao Cao had arrived, the confidential secretary Xiong Xianghui pushed the door in with a telegram folder.This person looked less than 30 years old, young and handsome, with a dignified and serene demeanor, at first glance he was the kind of person who had both his own opinions and self-cultivation.He approached Hu Zongnan with standard military steps, put the telegram folder with both hands, and said with a distinct Jianghan accent: "Mr. Hu, the president's secret letter is for you." Hu Zongnan leaned on his heels in a symbolic way, and gave a slightly high-pitched oh, took the newspaper clip, and hurriedly stopped Xiong Xianghui, who was eager to get away: "You go and do it, and call the commanders of the various armies in my name... ..." While Hu Zongnan was talking to Xiong Xianghui, Fan Hanjie stared intently at Xiong Xianghui's posture of standing at attention, saluting, and turning back to start and leave. He found that there was hardly a single nuance in this series of actions that did not conform to the infantry drill code.Looking at the daily military posture of the people around him is a habit naturally formed by Fan Hanjie during his years of military service.At that moment, he boasted to Hu Zongnan full of admiration: "Brother Qin Zhai is worthy of being the elite of our Whampoa Phase I. Even a secretary has been trained to be strict and upright. No wonder people say that we have a lot of talents in the First War Zone. Look at how capable this young man is!" He is a guy who takes one step at a time, moves freely, and can see our Huangpu school spirit with his eyes. Fan admires this!" Whether this gossip scratched Hu Zongnan's itching spot, or whether Lao Jiang's telegram brought Hu Zongnan unexpected joy, in short, Hu's mood improved surprisingly within five minutes.He smiled cheerfully and said, "Brother Han Jie, there are good horses everywhere, it depends on whether you are a bole or not! Let's just talk about this Xiong Xianghui. Back then, he was just a scholar, full of enthusiasm, and had no way to serve the country..." Hu Zongnan couldn't help recalling the past when Xiong Xianghui was taken in. It was the end of 1937. Hu Zongnan, who was over 40 years old and still unmarried, who was devoted to the party and the country and the leader, and who was called the right-hand man of Chairman Jiang by the world, led the "No. On the way of "turning forward", I came to Wuchang, the rear area where passionate young people piled up into mountains.He will interview in batches the young male and female students of the Field Service Corps who are waiting there to serve the country, and select some outstanding members from them to serve in his "No. 1 Army in the World".Xiong Xianghui was selected by him from the Field Service Corps that time. At that time, the interviewees were arranged in a large living room, and Hu Zongnan's attendant and adjutant Tang Xiyuan arranged the seats according to the order of the list.After a while, Hu Zongnan, who was not tall and wore the rank of lieutenant general, appeared in front of the team holding the roster with a reserved expression.He rolls the rolls one by one, both men and women are called "Mr."This alone is enough to ignite the flames of youth for those young people with great ambitions.Everyone whispered: "Hey, it's just different! The commander of the army, he just came out of the bloody battle on the front line..." All the people whose names were called said "yes" and stood up in embarrassment. answer.Hu Zongnan looked at them kindly, and he must say "please sit down", then asked three or five questions, listened attentively to the answers, and made some records of his intuitive impressions. It was Xiong Xianghui's turn.Strangely, when Hu Zongnan called his name, he neither stood up nor answered "yes", but unexpectedly raised his right hand and said "I am".Hu Zongnan stared at this somewhat out-of-the-way young man, and asked, "Gui Geng?" Xiong Xianghui said, "In three months and four days, he will be 19 years old." Hu Zongnan asked again, "Why did Mr. Xiong come to our army?" Xiong replied, "Participate in the revolution." The word "revolution" seems to have long been outdated in the Kuomintang circles, and at that time it almost became the monopoly of the Red Communist Party. Hu Zongnan was startled when he heard this answer, and hurriedly asked: "Mr. Xiong came to the army to participate in the revolution?" Xiong Xianghui replied eloquently: "Yes, the first sentence of Mr. Sun Yat-sen's will is 'I have devoted myself to the national revolution for forty years'. Your army is the first army of the National Revolutionary Army. To come to your army is of course to participate in the revolution." Hu Zongnan suddenly realized something, and then asked with a half-smile: "Then, Mr. Xiong, tell me, what is revolution?" Xiong Xianghui spoke eloquently: "Mr. Sun Yat-sen's original revolutionary task was to 'expel the Tartars and restore China.' Right now, 'expelling the Tartars' means resisting Japan, and resisting Japan is revolution." Hu Zongnan said with great interest, "Oh, resistance to Japan is revolution, so what are those who do not want to resist Japan and oppose it?" Without hesitation, Xiong said: "Those who actively resist Japan are true revolutionaries, those who passively resist Japan are false revolutionaries, those who are unwilling to resist Japan are not revolutionaries, and those who oppose resistance against Japan are counter-revolutionaries." Immediately afterwards, Hu Zongnan suddenly quickened his tone: "What should we do with the counter-revolutionaries?" Xiong blurted out: "Kill!" The two sides looked at each other silently, and the audience was extremely quiet.Hu Zongnan drew four circles behind Xiong Xianghui's name. After listening to Hu Zongnan's introduction, Fan Hanjie pretended to be surprised and closed his mouth from ear to ear. It took him a long time to lightly clap his hands: "Qin Zhai is really a strange person, a little confidential secretary who has hidden so many good stories, Fan Mou is all over the place!" Hu Zongnan said: "You are too proud. Xiao Xiong is the first batch of graduates of the No. 7 school, and he will be regarded as a member of our Whampoa family. In the future, we must support him more on the scene." Fan Hanjie made a look of surprise: "I said, this person looks good, there must be a source. Since he was cultivated by Qinzhai, and he is our little brother in Huangpu, Fan is of course obliged! It's not pleasant to say In other words, there are not too many, but too few, young people like this in our party who are both thoughtful and talented and hard-working. Young people like whims, and the Communist Party has become red, just catering to a small number of fanatics... " "You mean our party is short of talents?" Hu Zongnan asked wittily. Fan Hanjie didn't know what to do, and quickly waved his hands: "Where..." Hu Zongnan laughed aloud: "There's nothing I dare not admit, even the president sometimes sighs. If nothing else, let's take Whampoa as an example, Zhou Enlai, Ye Jianying, etc., have all gone to the Communist Party. Alas, light A Duke of Zhou is worth a million soldiers!" Fan Hanjie was tongue-tied, looking at Hu Zongnan, thinking, only this guy from Zhejiang dared to say such a thing. Hu Zongnan's sigh was indeed out of emotion.Since the Chongqing negotiations, Zhou Enlai's name has been mentioned among the top members of the Kuomintang, and it has caused headaches.He is always so personable, soft and strong, and his words and deeds are impeccable, but his goal is always firm.On June 26, the third day after the Kuomintang group publicly smeared their faces, Zhou Enlai submitted a memorandum aimed at police history to the US special envoy Marshall.He told Marshall (in fact, it was a warning): The Kuomintang government began a large-scale attack on Li Xiannian's troops in Hubei, which would inevitably lead to nationwide military conflicts, and the Kuomintang government should bear the responsibility and consequences. Mao Zedong was extremely satisfied with Zhou Enlai's move.At the CCP's enlarged Military Commission, he repeatedly declared: "Comrade Enlai's actions have let the world know that the Chinese civil war was started by Chiang Kai-shek, and I am fighting. If you seek peace with peace, you will die; if you seek peace with war, you will make peace." The most important thing is to win more battles and destroy more enemies. Chiang Kai-shek is more comfortable to eliminate a little bit, and completely comfortable to wipe out completely..." After the introduction of this framework of guiding ideology, it has been full of strings for all the front-line CCP generals. The two armies are facing each other, and the CCP, whose military strength is at a disadvantage, generally wins more with less. Everyone hopes to work hard to promote the overall situation with local efforts, and everyone has to think deeply about the one-third of an acre of land in their combat area. As soon as the day's meeting ended, He Long walked quickly to Peng Dehuai, and said with a smile: "I want to talk to you." Peng Dehuai also laughed when he heard it, but he didn't say anything, and came out of the small auditorium with Boss He , turn up a ramp.The two walked in silence for a while, and Peng Dehuai said with a smile: "What are you talking about, I agree with your policy." "These eight characters. He Long waved his hand modestly: "This is not my personal idea, it was discussed by everyone in our Jinsui team. Lao Jiang has dozens of divisions and two to three hundred thousand people in our place. The intention is very clear. First, occupy Chengde and the Eastern Hebei region, and then the main force must be concentrated to attack Zhangjiakou. Once Zhangjiakou is in hand, the Pingsui Railway, Tongpu Railway, and the northern section of the Ping-Han Railway will be controlled, and the Jinsui, Jinchaji, and Northeast Liberated Areas will be cut off for him. In this way , they can eat us one bite at a time. Right now, the Jinsui troops have to deal with Fu Zuoyi in the north and attack Yan Xishan in the south, so there are not enough troops. Although Fu Zuoyi was not defeated in the Suiyuan Battle, it also made him suffer a bit. Now Much more honest. But Yan Xishan was pissed off by Lao Jiang and became very rampant. We must take advantage of the opportunity when Fu's department is more peaceful and keep ourselves, buy time, kill one or two divisions of Yan Xishan, and send troops along the Tongpu Road and both sides of Jinbei to the north. The Daiyue, Ningwu, Naoxian, Daixian, Wutai, Dingxiang, Xinzhou and other large lands have been obtained. In this way, the two liberated areas of Jinsui and Jinchaji are connected into one piece. Did the troops replenish Problem. With sufficient manpower and material resources, we will attack Datong with concerted efforts, and success will be guaranteed immediately!" Peng Dehuai listened intently, nodding knowingly.After a long time, he said: "Temporarily take a defensive position against the area controlled by Fu, and take an offensive against the Yan Zhan area. It is in line with the facts and strategically correct. The Military Commission also means this. We want to organize a campaign in northern Shanxi." He thought for a while, then said : "Have you thought about it?" He Long said bluntly: "I've considered it. The Shanxi North Field Army Command was established to unify the command of the Second Brigade of the Jinsui Field Army, the Local Corps of the Yanmen Military Region, and the 11th Brigade of the Jinchaji Field Army. One brigade, and another brigade from Shanxi, Chahar and Hebei to strengthen it. Let Zhou Shidi be the commander and political commissar, He Bingyan as the deputy commander, Liao Hansheng as the deputy political commissar, Wang Shaonan as the chief of staff, and Yang Shanggao as the director of the political department. Dangdang logistics, running supplies." Peng Dehuai said with a smile: "You, Mr. He, are the commander of the Jinsui Military Region and a member of the Standing Committee of the Jinsui Branch. You are not in charge of logistics and supplies, but in charge of the rudder!" After two years of illness in Yan'an, Zhou Shidi, the deputy commander of the Jinsui Military Region, was so heartbroken.When he took office in the Northern Shanxi Field Army, he was basically a sick man.Before dawn on the day we parted from Yan'an, his wife Zhang Jian asked worriedly: "Shidi, can you do it?" Zhou Shidi lit up his chest and replied: "No medicine is better than going to the battlefield. Look, it was announced yesterday. Order, I will grow flesh today, and it will be so swollen that I will be beaten!" A wave of heat surged in Zhang Jian's heart.Ever since her wedding and honeymoon with Zhou Shidi in December 1940, she began to experience the absurd logic of this desperate man over and over again.On the second day after the marriage, Zhou returned to the front line to direct the anti-Japanese "mopping up".At that time he said: If little Japan is not driven out of China, even the best honeymoon will not be sweet.So, he went to the front to fight for three months, and the honeymoon had to be pushed back and forth until June 1944, when the groom came back, but it was not to share anything, but to treat illnesses.Zhang Jian is really grateful for the illness, but how can he say this easily?What's more, when the war comes, the serious illness has to be deterred!After all, a husband is a husband, and there is always something more in his heart than the honeymoon.The only choice for the wife is to send her husband on the journey with tears and laughter.Zhou Shidi said to his wife: "This time is different than usual, we are going to break ground on Tai Sui!" "Tai Sui" is Yan Xishan, the local emperor of Shanxi.On the land of Shanxi, he almost became the sun that never sets.Now, he is the commander-in-chief of the Kuomintang Second Theater.As long as the banner of anti-communism is raised, Chiang Kai-shek will be able to tolerate him, acquiescing to his feudal separatist regime, and still let him dominate the military and political power in Shanxi.However, in the past few months, "Emperor Yan" has been troubled by Shangdang's defeat.Zhang Fengji, his personal attendant, had a hard time, and he was exhausted when he was not far away from the sky and was not well served. One afternoon, Yan Xishan took a "ziwu nap" as usual.Zhang Fengji was just taking a nap on the recliner outside the curtain when he suddenly heard Yan Xishan slapping his hands twice inside.This is a signal to call the servants.Zhang Fengji hurriedly rushed to the bed: "What are your orders?" Yan Xishan sat on the bed with his forehead dripping with sweat: "I had a dream. I dreamed that a group of crows were croaking on the big pagoda tree in the courtyard..." Zhang Fengji frowned and thought for a while, then echoed: "The weather is dull these days, it seems that there are crows screaming." Yan Xishan let out a long sigh: "Do you understand? The crow is a disaster! We Shanxi people often say 'the crow crows, the coffin arrives'. This thing likes to eat carrion, and it flies here when it smells the dead. In the battle of Shangdang, It's a sign. Sigh, I'm so confused. Flocks of crows flew to the big pagoda tree in my yard, croaking endlessly, so I didn't take it seriously, and sent Peng Yubin to reinforce it. In the end, Shi Zebo couldn't be rescued. , and another 20,000 people were hired, and the Communist Party took advantage of it for nothing.” Zhang Fengji handed over the hot towel, and said consolingly, "Sir, don't worry too much. We weren't ready at that time, but now we are so afraid? The team is organized in a tough way, and there are senior consultants and senior councilors. We Cooperate with the chairman, the first step is to keep Shanxi, and to unify China in the future..." What Zhang Fengji said was exactly Yan Xishan's "strategy". "Defend Jinzhong, stick to Taiyuan" and "restore the province first, then the country" are the slogans that Yan Xishan has repeatedly declared on many occasions.The so-called "senior advisers" and "senior councilors" are actually more than 3,000 so-called "technical personnel" retained by Yan from the surrendered Japanese army at the risk of the world.He promised that "all retained personnel, regardless of whether they are officers or soldiers, will be promoted to two ranks and paid double pay", "special preferential treatment in pay and food, soldiers will be treated as lieutenants, and officials and assistants will be entrusted with high-level tasks."In order to fight the Communist Party decisively, Yan Xishan made these Japanese soldiers whose hands were stained with the blood of their compatriots change their appearance and put on the uniforms of the Jin Army, stamped the "Jin" character on the butt of their guns, organized six railway guards and security groups, and later evolved into the "Field Army" Independent Tenth Corps".This is a combat unit equivalent to a division level. The commander in chief is Imura, the former Colonel of the Second Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Army, but he was given a Chinese name, Jin Shude. Yan Xishan was very satisfied with his "masterpiece", and deployed Jin Shude's troops as the backbone to the key defense areas.He Rendan bearded and said to Zhang Fengji: "You are right, crows are called yin, not yang. Now we have formed the eighth and thirteenth armies, 5 armies, 15 divisions, and 3 independent armies." In the corps, we still have 5 artillery battalions, 1 field artillery battalion, 1 machine gun regiment, 1 engineer regiment, 1 secret service regiment, and 1 machine gun regiment! None of our divisions has less than 15,000 troops. It was from a high-level job in the past..." At this point, Yan Xishan seemed to be touched a little bit, and sighed, "Yan is not a person without conscience, everyone will follow me through this time of grievances, and later achieve great things, no matter what. You have to be rewarded for meritorious deeds, and promoted. Fengji, you and Yan Baichuan have had your share for most of our lives!" Zhang Fengji was overjoyed when he heard this, and was about to say something when Chief of Staff Guo Zongfen barged in. "Zongfen, what's the matter?" Yan Xishan asked with drooping eyelids. Guo Zongfen said: "As expected, the Communist Party will attack northern Shanxi." Yan Xishan's heart was flustered, and his face was calm: "Even if it's too serious, soldiers will come to block you, and water will come to cover you. Just inform Chu Xichun and Yu Zhenhe. Tell them, the 12 cities in Beiyue and Guannan districts , I will not agree to one less!" These 12 cities are all along the northern section of the Tongpu Railway, and Baocheng City is Baobao Railway.Yan Xishan is bounded by the Great Wall and divided into Beiyue and Guannan districts in northern Shanxi.Chu Xichun, commander of the 43rd Army, was ordered to be the commander-in-chief of Beiyue District, and stationed in five cities north of the Great Wall, including Datong, Huairen, Yingxian, Shanyin, and Shuoxian; Yu Zhenhe, deputy commander of the 19th Army, was appointed as Commander-in-Chief of Guannan District, stationed in 7 cities including Xinzhou, Ningwu, Nao County, Fanshi, Wutai, Dingxiang, and Dai County.Those Japanese soldiers in Jin Shude's uniforms were assigned to these 12 cities.He himself was named the deputy commander-in-chief of Beiyue District by Yan Xishan.There are more than 50,000 people in such a team of real, fake, and miscellaneous.This is the total force that Zhou Shidi Jinbei Field Army needs to deal with. When crossing the Yellow River east, Zhou Shidi thought about Yan Jun's length and length dozens of times: It seems that the 12 points along the railway line are densely packed like a spider's web, and the whole body is affected by one move, not to mention that it is so convenient for the enemy to support each other on the railway line.But in fact, the seemingly tight defenders have their fatal weaknesses exposed.They have many lines and long lines and scattered configurations. There is a distance of three to four hundred kilometers between Datong and Xin County. What a good time!At the first campaign analysis meeting of the Field Army Headquarters, Zhou Shidi hit the nail on the head when he talked about the guiding ideology of the campaign: "During the campaign, as long as we persist in concentrating our forces, drawing out points one by one, annihilating the enemy section by section, and turning the overall weakness into a relative advantage, Change the overall passive defense into a local active attack, and we are absolutely sure of victory in the battle!" Zhou Shidi's battle analysis was based on careful consideration, so it is well-founded and convincing.He is an old Huangpu. During the provincial and Hong Kong strikes in Shayuyong, the "iron armored convoy" he led became famous. Even Mao Zedong was full of praise when he gave a speech to the students at the Guangzhou Peasant Movement Workshop.During the Northern Expedition, Zhou served as chief of staff of the Ye Ting Independent Regiment.The Ye Ting Independent Regiment at that time was a well-known "Iron Army" after the battle of He Shengqiao.Later, Zhou Shidi joined the regiment to participate in the Nanchang Uprising and was promoted to head of the regiment.He was the chief of staff of the 15th Red Army during the Long March, and the chief of staff of the 120th Division during the War of Resistance, partnering with He Long and Guan Xiangying.Zhou Shidi was most worried that everyone's opinions would not come out when he was cooperating with He Bingyan, Liao Hansheng and a group of young people this time.After his own speech, he really hoped to hear a little different voice, but he waited for half an hour, but still no one spoke. Even He Bingyan, who always likes to find fault, said: "This is the only way to fight this battle." Zhou Shidi frowned dissatisfied: "Then where do you think the surgery should be done?" He Bingyan replied without thinking: "Of course it is a weak enemy." Zhou Shidi pursued closely: "The enemy has 12 strongholds in the north and south, can you point out which one is weak and which one is strong?" When He Bingyan opened his eyes wide, Wang Shaonan, Chief of Staff of the Field Army, stood up and said, "I think it's an attack on the junction of the enemy's two districts!" "Why?" Zhou Shidi looked expectantly, like an examiner. At this time, Liao Hansheng, who had not spoken all this time, rushed to say: "It is impossible to judge the strength of each enemy's stronghold in isolation, but the enemy's strength changes with the development of the battle. It depends on the reinforcements of neighboring enemies. If we hit the junction, the possibility of the enemy reinforcing each other is the least, so it is a weak enemy, which is convenient for us to cut the connection between the enemy's strongholds..." Speeches one after another, almost forming an argument.Zhou Shidi smiled and nodded frequently, and finally he decided: First, plan Shuo County first. When the plan was finalized, it was already dark, and the cooking team carried a bucket of hot millet porridge, plus two pieces of bean cakes per person.Zhou Shidi said with a smile: "This is a treat. Let's take a sip as soon as possible. When the moon comes up, let's go to see the terrain." Everyone still drank something dilute after 9 o'clock in the morning, and stayed up until dark, who wouldn't comment on it.Before Zhou Shidi could finish his sentence, someone snored and drank porridge from a certain corner of the small earthen house in the headquarters.This is the most beautiful piece of music in the world.As soon as the prelude sounded, the "chorus" began. The siege time was set at 0:30 on June 17.In the previous hour, the 36th Regiment of the Second Independent Brigade and the 3rd Regiment of the Yanmen Military Region had sneaked under the city and hid themselves.The breakthrough was chosen precisely in the north of the city, which is "impregnable as gold".With the order to attack, the troops suddenly appeared from the shadows and erected the ladder.Before Yan Jun's sentry post could react, the siege troops had already climbed up the city wall densely, like magic soldiers descending from the sky.The defenders were in a hurry, and fired their guns with their eyes closed, but that was just a drop in the bucket.In less than 30 minutes, the northwest corner of Shuo County was controlled by the siege troops.这期间，独二旅三十六团的工兵突击队，连续炸开北门两道城门，主力部队如数从洞开的大门一拥而上，先入城的分队里应外合，给守敌以内外夹击，一小时内就夺取了半个县城。当即组织部队分别向街心制高点的钟鼓楼、县公署和公安局及守军指挥中心发起攻击，天亮时，朔县全城已红旗招展，守城阎军1300人就歼灭了1200人，另有百八十人趁乱四散奔逃，俘虏里面，团长、县长之类的国民党小官及他们的太太、小姐押了一大群。 晋北野战军就这样势如破竹，一连攻下九座城市，个把月时间便直逼距太原一步之遥的忻州城下。 阎锡山慌了神，急忙把抗战时期出了名的“草包军长”赵承绶找来吩咐：“你给我去忻州。”赵草包一听要自己去共产党兵临城下的忻州，两条腿就像琵琶一样弹开了。 阎锡山看透赵的心思，又厌恶又无奈地补充道：“放心吧，你是总司令，区区忻州咱还用不着你。你去只是替我向兄弟们训训话。你就说：'如果忻州失守，太原将不保。太原保不住，咱山西就完了！'”这一下赵承绶精气神上来了，说话嗓门顿时高了八度：“我不但代表长官训话，还要严肃军纪！” 阎锡山抖动山羊胡子：“对！传我的令，李义龙就地正法，王乾元嘛，关他三个月禁闭再说，不反省明白不许放人！” 李义龙就是首失朔县城而只身逃脱性命的朔县守军总指挥，王乾元是阎军第四十师师长，宁武、繁峙、代县、崞县都从他手上丢的，现在又在忻州城里当缩头乌龟。杀的杀了，关的关了，阎锡山这一招果真有效，坐镇忻州的第十九军副军长于振河和那个不伦不类的日本少将井村（晋树德），把经营多年的城防工事小心细致整修加固一番。两人昼夜盯着部队，在城周几百米内构筑大批护城碉堡，每个碉堡直径有一丈多，三丈多高，一个排兵力蹲在里面绰绰有余。这种被晋北野战军指战员们称为“水萝卜碉堡”的庞然大物，在据点、碉堡和城墙外，都挖出了一丈多宽、一丈多深的外壕和护城壕，灌上泥水。而且在据点、碉堡之间及与城内都有暗道连接。地面更是了不得，稍开阔一点的地方，统统布设绊雷、拉雷和各式触发地雷。忻州城墙高大坚固，四面墙头都架起双层电网，并筑有掩盖工事。城角凸出部火力点高低配置，形成交叉火网。城西门、南门均被堵死，只留东、北两门日常进出。 怪不得阎锡山要于振河把关南区总指挥部设在这里。如果称忻州是太原的“北大门”，那于振河便是可让阎锡山高枕无忧的门神。 即便如此，阎锡山也还是睡不着觉。他在忻州押的赌注太大了！ 正当周士第苦无良策攻破这座浑身披鳞带甲的忻州城时，他忽然得到消息，说阎锡山急调第六十八师师长许鸿林率两个团北上增援忻州。周士第抬头望着满天星斗，嘘口大气，莫非苍天有眼？他急忙将自己的想法拟成一份精短电文，拍发给数百里之外的贺老总。