Chapter 15 5. Mao Zedong ordered Lin Biao

The commander-in-chief of our army in the Northeast Liberation War was Lin Biao. After the Anti-Japanese War ended, Lin Biao was ready to go to the front line. The battlefield he was going to was Shandong, because the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army was in Shandong, and Luo Ronghuan, the political commissar, had always been the division commander. The central government decided that he would still be the commander of the 115th Division and the Shandong Military Region. Commander.At that time, a large number of senior generals who participated in the Seventh Congress of the Communist Party of China in Yan'an needed to rush back to the front as soon as possible.Therefore, Mao Zedong made a very bold move. He asked Ye Jianying, who was then the chief of staff of the Eighteenth Army (commonly known as the Eighth Route Army), to work for the US military observation team stationed in Yan'an, and borrowed their planes to send a large number of cadres to Yan'an. Go ahead, because the US military observation team is parking a Douglas transport plane at Yan'an Airport.After Ye Jianying's efforts, this request was accepted by the US military observation team.

On August 25, 1945, the US military plane in Yan'an decided to fly to Licheng County, Shanxi, where the headquarters of our Taihang Military Region is located.The leaders of our army who took this plane to the front that day included Liu Bocheng, Deng Xiaoping, Chen Yi, Chen Geng, Bo Yibo, Teng Daiyuan, Deng Hua, Yang Dezhi, Li Tianyou, Jiang Hua, Nie Heting, Chen Xilian, Chen Zaidao, Wang Jinshan, Zhang Jichun, Song Shilun, Fu Qiutao, Deng Keming and more than 20 people, including Lin Biao and Xiao Jinguang who was going to be the deputy commander of the Shandong Military Region.Since it was necessary to communicate with the US military crew, none of these leaders could speak English, so Huang Hua volunteered to go on the same plane as an interpreter.It is absolutely unprecedented in history that an ordinary transport plane transported so many leaders of the Chinese Communist Army.Fortunately, the plane arrived safely at the airstrip in Changning Town, Licheng.Lin Biao and Xiao Jinguang arrived in Puyang on September 23 on their way from the Taihang Military Region to Shandong.At this time, they were suddenly ordered by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to divert the two of them to the north and go to the east of Jidong. The Central Committee decided that Lin Biao would be the commander of the newly formed Jireliao Military Region.Lin Biao did not bring any troops at this time, so he immediately diverted to the north, walked for more than 20 days, and finally arrived at Yutian, Hebei, where the headquarters of the Jireliao Military Region is located.

Before Lin Biao and Xiao Jinguang arrived in Yutian, the central government sent two more telegrams asking them to rush to Shenyang immediately. The reason was clearly explained in the telegrams: Now that the U.S. and Chiang Kai-shek troops are eager to land in Yingkou and Huludao, the Soviet army may not be able to refuse. Our army must resolutely resist in order to prevent Jiang Jun from entering the Northeast.Under such circumstances, the strategic position of Eastern Jidong is not as important as that of Shenyang.I hope you will rush to Shenyang in the starry night to command the battle.

Obviously, this is an important appointment, Lin Biao will serve as the coach of the Northeast battlefield. When the central government first decided on the candidates for the Northeast Bureau, there was no battle to fight in the Northeast, and the most urgent task was to mobilize the masses and open up base areas. Therefore, among the five members of the Northeast Bureau, Peng Zhen, Chen Yun, Cheng Zihua, and Lin Feng were all pioneers. He is an expert in building base areas and dealing with various complicated situations, while Wu Xiuquan is an expert in the party who has been in charge of dealing with the Communist International and the Soviet Union for a long time, and is in charge of external liaison, and is proficient in Russian.Among these five leaders, no military commander-in-chief has been considered.However, in the September 17 telegram from the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee in Yan'an to Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai in Chongqing (this telegram comprehensively analyzed the situation in the Northeast and our party's policy for the work in the Northeast), there were already such words: "In order to strengthen the Jire Liao For the work in the region, the Jireliao Central Bureau should be established immediately, and Gao Gang, Fuchun, Kang Sheng, etc. should be sent to work, and a strong military command organization must be organized, with Chen Yi, Lin Biao, or Xu Xiangqian in charge." That is to say, at that time Three candidates for military commander were considered: Chen Yi, Lin Biao, and Xu Xiangqian.Two days later, in the "Instructions on Current Tasks and Strategic Deployment" of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, it was determined that Lin Biao would be the commander, and Luo Ronghuan would also go to the Northeast (it turns out that the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China wanted the Shandong Military Region to enter the Northeast, and Xiao Hua led the team by name. of).Obviously, in order to prepare for a big battle, Mao Zedong was determined to send Lin Biao and Luo Ronghuan, the leadership cores of the old Eighth Route Army and the 115th Division, to the northeast to command the battle, and Lin Biao was chosen as the commander in chief.

When Lin Biao arrived in Shenyang, it was already October 29.The central government asked him to be the commander-in-chief of the Northeast Army, but this army has no name at this time.This is because when the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China deployed various armies into the Northeast, in order to avoid unnecessary friction, it stipulated that the names of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army should not be used.General Kratchenko, commander of the Sixth Army of the Soviet Army stationed in Shenyang, proposed that the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army that would enter the Northeast be called the Northeast People's Autonomous Army.

On October 31, the second day after Lin Biao arrived in Shenyang, the Northeast Bureau received an order drafted by Mao Zedong for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. It was decided that the official name of our army in the Northeast would be the Northeast People's Autonomous Army. Li Yunchang and Xiao Jinguang are the first, second, and third deputy commanders, Peng Zhen is the first political commissar, Luo Ronghuan is the second political commissar, Cheng Zihua is the deputy political commissar, and Xiao Jinguang is also the chief of staff.Two days later, Zhou Baozhong was additionally appointed as the fourth deputy commander, and Wu Xiuquan was appointed as the second chief of staff (before this, in order to unify the command of the Northeast War, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to organize a temporary military command organization called the Northeast Military Region Command. Cheng Zihua was the commander, Peng Zhen was the political commissar, and Wu Xiuquan was the chief of staff. After the formation of the Northeast People’s Autonomous Army, this temporary command organization was abolished by itself.)

At the same time, the central government also decided to transfer Gao Gang, Zhang Wentian, and Li Fuchun to work in the Northeast Bureau.In order to open up the rear base area, on November 2, according to the opinions of the Northeast Bureau, the central government decided to establish the Northeast Bureau Beiman (Northeast was also called Manchuria at the time, and Beiman and Nanman were the customary names for some parts of the Northeast at that time) branch office. Chen Yun is the secretary and Lin Feng is the deputy secretary.Its mission is to control northern Manchuria, organize the army, establish political power, mobilize the people, suppress the reactionary, and consolidate the rear.According to the spirit of the Central Committee, the Northeast Bureau decided to establish the North Manchuria Military Region, with Gao Gang as the commander and Chen Yun as the political commissar.At the same time, the Ximan Branch Bureau was established, with Li Fuchun as the secretary; the Ximan Military Region was established, with Lu Zhengcao as the commander. On November 20, in order to improve the leadership of the Ximan work, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to strengthen the Ximan Sub-bureau. Li Fuchun served as the secretary of the branch and the political commissar of the military region. Li Yunchang is the deputy commander of the military region.

Within a month of November, the General Command of the Northeast People's Autonomous Army successively divided the entire Northeast into several military regions.Successively established: Jinre Military Region, Nenjiang Military Region, Jilin Military Region (also known as Dongman Military Region), Beian Military Region, Songjiang Military Region, Sanjiang Military Region (also known as Hejiang Military Region), Liaodong Military Region, Liaoning Military Region, and Liaobei Military Region.Among them, the strongest military forces are the following military regions: Liaodong Military Region, Commander and Political Commissar Xiao Hua; Liaoning Military Region, Commander Zhang Xuesi, Political Commissar Bai Jian; Liaobei Military Region, Commander Ni Zhiliang, Political Commissar Guo Shushen; Jilin Military Region, Commander Zhou Baozhong, Deputy Commander Wan Yi, Political Commissar Zhang Qilong; Bei'an Military region, commander Ye Changgeng, political commissar Wang Heshou; Songjiang military region, commander Lu Dongsheng (Nie Heting after Lu died), political commissar Zhang Xiushan.

At the end of November, the headquarters of the Northeast People's Autonomous Army moved from Shenyang to Benxi. In this way, the party, government and army leadership groups and command organizations at all levels in the Northeast are generally in place.