Chapter 8 Chapter 7 Laughing at the sunset, Jiang Jun changed generals like turning Peng

Du Yuming and Xiong Shihui watched the sunset together, lamenting the bleak future.Chen Cheng overestimated himself and threatened to recover all the lost ground within 6 months.Lin Biao "chattered here and there", winning three battles and three victories.The Kuomintang convenes a National Assembly.Chiang Kai-shek suddenly remembered that Wei Lihuang, the commander-in-chief of the "Northeast Suppression Command", was sticking to Shenyang and refused to retreat westward. The rain finally stopped.A sliver of the setting sun pierced through the chaotic clouds in the western sky, slantingly shining on the city of Shenyang.

Xiong Shihui sat in Du Yuming's ward, staring at the glow outside the window without saying a word. "It's rare to have time to see such a beautiful sunset." He seemed to be talking to himself. Du Yuming flipped on the bed, as if he wanted to say something, but he just sighed. Xiong Shihui turned his head: "Why are you sighing?" A wry smile appeared on Du Yuming's pale face: "Li Shangyin has such a poem: the setting sun is infinitely good, but it's just near dusk. Although Siping was saved, my heart still beats when I think about it. Nanjing asked for relief on June 30, and I I was sweating a lot, thanks to Zheng Dongguo's fast running. It seems that the Northeast cannot stay for long."

"You don't want to stay for a long time, but there are people who are eager to come." Xiong Shihui said lightly. "You mean Chen Cheng?" Du Yuming asked. "There will be others?" Xiong Shihui smiled contemptuously, "But he is here to replace me, you have to hold on for a while." Du Yuming shook his head, "I'm not here to be angry with that idiot, let's go together. I'll report to Nanjing right now." Du Yuming has decided to go.The resignation reports were sent to Nanjing one by one. On July 8, 1947, Chiang Kai-shek finally agreed to relieve him of his position as commander of the Northeast Security Commander, and agreed that he should leave Shenyang and return to the rear to concentrate on medical treatment.At the same time, Xiong Shihui's position was also removed, and Chen Cheng, the chief of staff, was replaced as the director of Northeast Xingyuan.

This Chen Cheng, originally from Qingtian, Zhejiang Province, studied at home at home when he was young, and has no ambitions. He only wants to be a primary school teacher.But then two accidental opportunities decided his life.The first time was in 1919, when Chen Cheng was recommended by someone to take part in the eighth entrance examination of Baoding Military Academy, but unfortunately his grades were too poor and he was short in stature, so he was not admitted.Although after looking for someone to take a relationship with many parties, in the end it was only listed as a backup.Unexpectedly, a miracle happened at this time.It turned out that the student who got the first place in the exam suddenly changed his mind and didn't want to go to the military academy, so he went to Peking University instead.Chen Cheng was admitted to Baoding Military Academy from a berth student at once, and began his military and political career of more than 40 years.

By 1922, after Chen Cheng graduated from the Artillery Department of Baoding Military Academy, he was admitted to Whampoa Military Academy in 1924.One day, Chen Cheng, the captain of the Artillery Section and the captain of the Artillery Division, returned from visiting friends late at night. He was too excited to fall asleep, so he picked up a copy of "Three People's Principles" and flipped through it.During the morning exercises the next day, Chiang Kai-shek announced in public: Chen Cheng, the captain of the artillery area, worked hard and read the "Three People's Principles" until late at night without being tired, and his spirit was commendable. He was specially promoted to the captain of the artillery.Chen Cheng suddenly became Chiang Kai-shek's confidant.Later, he married Tan Manyi, the goddaughter of Mrs. Chiang's Soong Meiling, and his relationship with Chiang Kai-shek was closer.

It was precisely because of his relationship with Chiang Kai-shek that Chen Cheng continued to gather military power, expand his strength, and climbed to the position of chief of staff.Although his power is growing, his reputation is getting worse.He was cronyistic, ruled out dissidents, domineering, and unscrupulous, which made senior Kuomintang generals such as Gu Zhutong, Liu Zhi, Xiong Shihui, Tang Enbo and Du Yuming extremely dissatisfied with him.After the civil war broke out, Chen Cheng's lack of morale and command incompetence were fully exposed.In a fit of anger, Chiang Kai-shek withdrew his military command.

In order to save face, Chen Cheng took a fancy to the Northeast, and wanted to win a few battles and regain Chiang Kai-shek's trust.For this reason, from April 1947, he specially sent some special agents to the Northeast to collect evidence of corruption by Xiong Shihui, Du Yuming and others, so as to drive these people out of the Northeast.Chen Mingren, who had just won the "Siping Great Victory", was the first to fall into his hands. Now that Du Yuming and Xiong Shihui have left one after another, Chen Cheng finally got his wish.He triumphantly grasped the military and political power in the Northeast, and reorganized the army drastically.The original 9 security zone headquarters and 11 security detachments in Northeast China were successively expanded into the new 3rd Army, the New 5th Army, the New 7th Army, and the New 8th Army.The cavalry detachment was expanded into a cavalry division, and Wang Tiehan of the 49th Army was transferred from northern Jiangsu to northeast China.In this way, together with the original New 1st, New 6th, 13th, 52nd, 53rd, 60th, 71st, and 93rd armies, the total strength of the Kuomintang in the Northeast reached 14 armies and 550,000 people.Later, Chen Cheng brought a large number of cannons, chariots, cars and other equipment from the pass.

"I want to restore the advantage in the Northeast within six months and regain all the lost ground in the Northeast." Chen Cheng publicly shouted. "The reason why the Northeast has fought for several years and achieved poor results is all due to the political corruption and military incompetence of Xiong Shihui and Du Yuming. If you want to restore the record, you must first rectify the corruption." Chen Cheng chanted slogans and replaced the commanders of the 71st Army. Chen Mingren, Liang Kai, commander of the 52nd Army, Liu Yuzhang, deputy commander, Xu Zhen, chairman of Liaoning Province, and the commanders of various security detachments, also transferred Sun Liren, the commander of the New 1st Army who refused to obey discipline, with excuses. However, Chen Cheng's confidants took the opportunity to win the above-mentioned important positions.

Such a move by Chen Cheng caused chaos and panic within the Kuomintang army. While Chen Cheng was expanding his army, Lin Biao was also expanding his army and preparing for war.By September 1947, the field troops of the Democratic Alliance Army had grown to 9 columns, 27 divisions, 10 independent divisions, 2 cavalry divisions, and 1 artillery headquarters with a total of 290,000 people, plus nearly 230,000 local armed forces. The total strength is nearly 520,000.Among them, the headquarters of the Democratic Alliance Army is directly under 4 schools, 1 artillery headquarters, 1 road guard army, independent 2nd, 4th, and 5th divisions and cavalry divisions, commander-in-chief and political commissar Lin Biao, deputy commander-in-chief Zhou Baozhong, Lu Zhengcao, Xiao Jinguang, Huang Kecheng, Deputy Political Commissars Peng Zhen, Luo Ronghuan, Gao Gang, Chen Yun, Li Fuchun, Chiefs of Staff Liu Yalou, Wu Xiuquan, Director of the Political Department Tan Zheng.

Li Tianyou, the commander of the first column, and Wan Yi, the political commissar, govern the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd divisions; Liu Zhen, the commander of the second column, and Wu Faxian, the political commissar, govern the 4th, 5th, and 6th divisions; Han Xianchu, the commander of the third column, and Luo Shunchu, the political commissar, govern the 7th , 8, and 9 divisions; Wu Kehua, commander of the fourth column, and Peng Jiaqing, political commissar, governed the 10, 11, and 12 divisions; Hong Xuezhi, commander of the sixth column, and Lai Chuanzhu, political commissar, governed the 16, 17, and 18 divisions; Deng Hua, commander of the seventh column , political commissar Tao Zhu, with jurisdiction over 19, 20, and 21 divisions; eighth column commander Huang Yongsheng, political commissar Liu Daosheng, with jurisdiction over 22, 23, and 24 divisions; ninth column commander Zhan Caifang, and political commissar Li Zhongquan, with jurisdiction over 25, 26, and 27 divisions; Liang Xingchu, commander of the tenth column, and Zhou Chiping, political commissar, governed the 28th, 29th, and 30th divisions.In addition, the Democratic Alliance Army has also set up two forward command posts: Xiao Jinguang, the former commander of the Liaodong Military Region, and Xiao Hua, the political commissar; Cheng Zihua, the former commander of the Jicha Reliao Military Region, and Huang Kecheng, the political commissar.

Lin Biao reported the new organizational situation of the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.Mao Zedong held the telegram with joy on his face: "Lin Biao is doing very well in the Northeast." He walked back and forth a few times, sat down and personally returned the telegram to Lin Biao: "I hope you can start fighting in late September; In the new battle, it seems appropriate to use one powerful corps to attack the enemy on the Shanhaiguan and Shenyang lines, and another powerful corps to attack the enemy on the middle and long lines, in order to disperse the enemy and defeat them one by one. You decide for yourself what to focus on." Mao Zedong respected Lin Biao's military command power very much. He seldom issued rigid orders directly, but mostly made suggestions or issued orders that left room for choice. Lin Biao looked at Mao Zedong's instructions and began to think about a new action plan.In the past few years, he and Du Yuming were basically on a par. Now that Du Yuming is gone, I don't know how capable this new Chen Cheng is. At this time, Chen Cheng was adjusting his strategy in the Northeast.He believes that Du Yuming's mistake in the past was that he did not completely wipe out the democratic coalition forces west of the Beining Road from Jinzhou to Shenyang, so that the Kuomintang army was in danger of being cut off from inside and outside the pass.For this reason, he sent Wang Tiehan's 49th Army, which had just been transferred from northern Jiangsu, and the 43rd Division, which had been drawn from North China, to the eastern area of ​​Rehe, and ordered them to wipe out the democratic coalition forces operating along Beining Road in a short period of time.On the medium and long-term line, Chen Cheng changed the previous "comprehensive defense" to "mobile defense", and planned to shrink his troops to defend key cities. "So that's how it is." Lin Biao couldn't help laughing to himself when he saw Chen Cheng attaching so much importance to the Beining Line. "I'll just do my best. Starting from late September, the main force of the Jireliao Military Region will first launch an attack on the Beining line, cutting off the connection between the inside and the outside of the pass. When Chen Cheng sends the main force to the west, we will dispatch 6 troops from South Manchuria and North Manchuria. The main column is looking for opportunities to wipe out the enemy between Changchun and Siping along the Zhongchang Railway." Lin Biao's plan has been set, but has not yet been implemented.Chen Cheng made the first move. Just after September, Chen Cheng took the lead in launching an offensive on the Beining road section, and dispatched three divisions to advance towards Jianchang, where the Democratic Alliance Army Jireliao troops assembled.Huang Kecheng, deputy commander-in-chief of the Democratic Alliance Army and former political commissar of the Jireliao Military Region, immediately ordered Huang Yongsheng's Eighth Column and Zhan Caifang's Nine Columns: Actively look for fighter opportunities and resolutely attack the invading enemy. After the two columns got the order, they crossed the mountains and ridges to face the invading enemy. In the middle of the night on September 13, Bazong traveled to the area of ​​​​Lishugoumen, and encountered the temporary 50th Division of the Kuomintang Army.The sound of the horn was loud and clear, gunshots broke out everywhere, and Ba Zong immediately hit him head-on.The 50th Division was marching in the dark and was suddenly beaten up. I didn't know how many troops the Democratic Alliance Army had, so they had to flee in a panic.By dawn, most of them had been wiped out. "The 50th Temporary Division was beaten at the Lishugou Gate." The 22nd KMT Temporary Division, which was entering the side gate of Xintai, heard the news and hurriedly retreated to Yangjiazhangzi, not far from Jinxi. Yangjiazhangzi is a mountain valley, which is an excellent location suitable for encirclement and annihilation warfare.In order to seize the temporary 22nd Division, the Eighth Column troops rushed day and night, and finally intercepted the enemy on the night of September 15th.Huang Yongsheng came to the front line in person and commanded the Eighth Column to launch a general offensive on the afternoon of the 16th. At dusk, only one part of the 22nd Division temporarily escaped, and the rest were wiped out. "Temporary 50th Division and Temporary 22nd Division have suffered disastrous defeats one after another!" Chen Cheng in Shenyang City was furious, "Let Wang Tiehan, the commander of the 49th Army, lead the 79th Division and a part of the 105th Division to take down the Yang family immediately!" "You must not!" Zheng Dongguo immediately stopped Chen Cheng, "The Yang family is in a mountain valley, and the Communist army is best at fighting in this kind of terrain. It is not suitable for our army to go there." Chen Cheng gave Zheng Dongguo a hard look: "You have been fighting with Du Yuming for many years, and you have developed a bad habit of greedy for life. Do you still have a soldier's demeanor?" Zheng Dongguo left the command room without saying a word, cursing inwardly, "You idiot!" On September 19th, Wang Tiehan led more than 10,000 people to Yangjiazhangzi. He did not see any trace of the Democratic Alliance Army, so he immediately built fortifications. Huang Yongsheng had just wiped out the enemy's 50th division here, and unexpectedly another Kuomintang army entered the valley to wait for a decisive battle. He couldn't help being overjoyed, and quickly joined Zhan Caifang's Nine Columns to fight.The battle started at 13:00 on September 21. After several charges, Wang Tiehan was defeated. He abandoned his position and fled to the nearby villages of Yangjiazhangzi and Maoqitun. Relying on strong firepower, he continued to resist, fighting desperately help. When Chen Cheng learned that Wang Tiehan was in trouble, he hurriedly transferred the 26th Division of the 49th Army, the 60th Division, the 18th Division, and the 22nd Division to emergency reinforcements from Jinzhou and Jinxi.The reinforcement troops of the Eighth and Ninth Columns firmly blocked these reinforcements at the front lines of Hongluoxian, Lianshan, and Wulingshan, and the two sides fought fiercely. At that time, it was raining heavily, and the bean-sized raindrops hit the grass with a crackling sound.The Democratic Alliance Army did not have any rain gear, and they braved the heavy rain to carry out three general charges against Yang Jiazhangzi.Until the evening of September 22, Wang Tiehan finally lost his fighting spirit and ordered all the departments to disperse and break through.He himself led the guards to escape first, and the foreign reinforcements also collapsed.The units of the Democratic Alliance Army pursued the victory, and the next day, the Eighth and Ninth Columns swept the battlefield for another day. Starting from the Battle of Lishugoumen, the Democratic Alliance Army fought three times and won three victories in western Liaoning, annihilating the 49th Army of the Kuomintang Army and four regiments of the 79th and 105th Divisions, two regiments of the 50th Division, the 22nd Division, the 60th Division, and the 50th Division. Each of the 18 divisions has a total of more than 12,000 people.After the battle, the Eighth and Ninth Columns, with the cooperation of local armed forces and militias, completely destroyed the railway line from Jinzhou to Shanhaiguan from September 28th to 30th, cutting off the connection between the Kuomintang army inside and outside the pass. Chen Cheng was furious and determined to regain the advantage in western Liaoning after failing to steal the chicken.He telegraphed the two main divisions of the New Army stationed in Tieling to immediately go west by train to reinforce Jinzhou, and at the same time asked Fu Zuoyi in North China to send troops north. Chen Cheng dispatched all the way and only paid attention to the west of Liaoning, but the Kuomintang troops on the Zhongchang Railway Line were empty. "The opportunity is here!" Lin Biao took the case and ordered the Northeast columns to launch an autumn offensive immediately on September 26.Liu Yalou added: All troops should run lightly and surround the empty city by dividing their troops, preparing to attack the city while preparing to send reinforcements. After receiving the order, all the troops set off quickly and rushed to the predetermined combat location to find fighters.The three columns of Nanman took the lead and flew to the vicinity of Xifeng, scaring the enemies in Xifeng, Lianhua Street and Yehe to retreat one after another. The three verticals rushed to catch up, braved the rain, and together with the four verticals, they wiped out more than 8,000 enemies in just three days, and approached Kaiyuan and Tieling.Chen Cheng was helpless, and quickly transferred the main force of the New Army that aided Jinzhou from the west back to Tieling. When Lin Biao dealt with Du Yuming, he adopted the method of "fighting from the south and pulling from the north", which made Du Yuming exhausted.Chen Cheng thought he was smart, so he changed the main direction of attack to the west of Liaoning, but Lin Biao switched to a "chattering" style of play, and the Kuomintang army still suffered losses.Chen Cheng finally couldn't sit still, relying on his close relationship with Chiang Kai-shek, he asked Nanjing for help. Chiang Kai-shek couldn't ignore it, and hurriedly flew to Shenyang on October 8.As expected, Chen Cheng had a big face. On the one hand, Chiang Kai-shek put forward the strategic policy of "consolidating Shenyang and its transportation links with the pass, and strengthening the defense forces of the strongholds north of Shenyang, in order to ensure security", and on the other hand promised Chen Cheng to send the 24th Division of the 92nd Army in the hands of Fu Zuoyi in North China. The 43rd Division of the 94th Army, the 54th Division of the 13th Army, the 10th and 11th Divisions of the 3rd Temporary Army, and the 4th Cavalry Division, a total of 6 divisions supported the Northeast. Fu Zuoyi did not dare to disobey Chiang Kai-shek's order, and immediately sent Hou Jingru, commander of the 17th Corps, to lead 6 divisions to the northeast for reinforcements along the Beining Road that had been destroyed by the Democratic Alliance Army. Hou Jingru learned the lesson of Wang Tiehan, no longer dispersed his forces, and strived to fight steadily and steadily, step by step.Although the progress is slow, the Democratic Coalition has never been allowed to seize the opportunity.By mid-October, Hou Jingru pushed to Fuxin, joined Chen Cheng's team, and re-opened the Beining line. Seeing that the operation went so smoothly, Hou Jingru couldn't help feeling a little proud.I didn't want to be proud of this, so there was a loophole.The main force of the Seven Columns in western Liaoning seized the opportunity and marched 75 kilometers forcibly on October 9 to attack Xinlitun.Before the 57th Division defending the enemy had time to prepare, two regiments had been wiped out. On the 17th, the Seventh Column continued to advance, conquered Fuxin, and wiped out the headquarters of the 51st Division and a regiment.Hou Jingru felt threatened from the side and couldn't continue to advance towards Shenyang, so he had to turn around and attack Qizong. Seeing that Qi Zong had already entangled Hou Jingru, Jiu Zong, with the cooperation of Ba Zong, rushed to Chaoyang on the 20th. On the evening of the 22nd, it took only 6 hours for the Nine Columns to wipe out more than 2,000 people defending Chaoyang. The flames of war ignited behind him, and Hou Jingru lost his position for a while.He personally led the 21st Division and 43rd Division of the 92nd Army to set off from Xinlitun and rushed to the Chaoyang area for rescue.Cheng Zihua and Huang Kecheng immediately gathered the Eighth and Ninth Columns and eight divisions of other troops, and laid pockets in the Jiuguantaimen and Daiguanbao areas west of Yixian County. When Hou Jingru came in, they would fight fiercely.From the end of the war to November 2, the Democratic Alliance Army wiped out more than 6,000 enemy troops, and the rest of the enemy army collapsed, fled eastward separately, hid in nearby cities, and never dared to come out again. The land in western Liaoning was silent, and there were no Kuomintang troops roaming around anymore. Looking at the overall situation, Lin Biao found that the Kuomintang troops were all shrinking their heads in the major cities, unable to hold on.He didn't have any chance to wipe out the enemy, so he had to order the withdrawal of troops on November 5. In this 50-day autumn offensive, the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army wiped out more than 69,000 Kuomintang troops, recovered or once conquered 15 cities, cut off the traffic between Beining and the Changchun-Siping section of the Zhongchang Railway, and forced the Kuomintang army to shrink. More than 20 large and medium-sized cities along the Beining and Zhongchang railway lines have fallen into a more passive situation.And Chen Cheng's incompetent command was unanimously criticized by the generals of the Northeast Kuomintang Army. It seems that Chen Cheng's life is really getting worse. At this time, Mao Zedong had ordered a counter-offensive in North China.Fu Zuoyi lost Shijiazhuang after a few battles, and hurriedly transferred back the 4th Cavalry Division to reinforce the Northeast and the 10th and 11th Temporary Divisions of the Temporary Third Army. Seeing the retreat of reinforcements, Chen Cheng had no choice but to shrink further.Lin Biao saw the opportunity and decided to launch a winter offensive when the Liaohe River was frozen. At the end of November 1947, the temperature in the Northeast dropped suddenly, and it snowed heavily for three days and three nights.It was the first day after the snow, and the sun was everywhere, reflecting the dazzling light.The time has come to launch a winter offensive. "Are all the columns ready?" Lin Biao asked as he sat by the stove in the Shuangcheng headquarters. The commanders of each column sat around and replied one after another: "Everything is ready." "This time all the columns have to set off, and no one can fall behind." Lin Biao said bluntly.When speaking, he took a special look at Wan Yi.Wan Yi's first column was a slightly inferior one among the columns of the Democratic Alliance Army at that time.Lin Biao intended to encourage Wan Yi, and then said to himself: "There is an old saying in China, don't be afraid of 10,000, but just in case."When speaking, Lin Biao unconsciously raised a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.He was eager for this sentence to cause everyone to laugh.I don't want everyone to turn a deaf ear to it, and no one can tell that his Hubei-flavored soliloquy is a joke.Lin Biao said it five times in a row, and seeing that everyone was still staring at each other blankly, he had no choice but to say angrily: "All columns are ready to go." The only joke Lin Biao ever made in his life just faded into history without any effect. The next day, the columns of the Democratic Alliance Army were dispatched one after another.Stepping on more than one foot of snow, they surrounded Faku, Zhangwu, and Xinlitun in mid-December, and advanced further to Xinmin and Shenyang. "Lin Biao launched a new attack." Chen Cheng immediately became nervous. "The 22nd Division of the New Army stationed in Tieling immediately sent reinforcements to the Faku area." The 22nd Division led the attack, and when it reached the north side of Tieling, it was blocked by the 4th Division of the 2nd Column of the Democratic Alliance Army. The 22nd Division broke through with all its strength, and when it broke out of the encirclement, it was encountering the 5th Division of the Second Vertical under the command of Zhong Wei. On December 17, the 22nd Division was defeated in one fell swoop. "Lin Biao is not going to attack Faku, but Shenyang!" Chen Cheng red-eyed, and hurriedly transferred Changchun's New 1st Army, Siping's 71st Army, and Jinzhou's two divisions to Shenyang, Tieling, and Xinmin areas to deploy defenses. Lin Biao did not attack Faku, instead he dispatched troops to attack Zhangwu. Zhangwu is located to the north of Xinlitun and west of Xiushuihezi, defending the enemy is the 79th Division of the 49th Army, with a strength of about 9,000 people. On December 22, the Second Column and the Seventh Column of the Democratic Alliance Army surrounded Zhangwu Tuan.Commander Liu Zhen of the Second Column and He Jinnian, commanded by Deng Hua on behalf of the Seventh Column, negotiated with each other and decided that this battle should be done with caution, and that they could only win but not lose. Therefore, although Lin Biao set the time for the general attack on December 24, the Second and Seventh Zong did not make a move. They repeatedly observed the terrain outside the city, selected breakthrough points and prepared blasting equipment for the siege.It was not until the morning of December 28 that everything was ready and the battle to attack Zhangwu officially began.Due to adequate preparations, the progress went very smoothly. In just 4 hours, more than 8,000 people from the headquarters of the 79th Division of the Kuomintang and 3 regiments were captured. Except for more than 1,800 people who were killed and wounded, all of them were captured. After the Battle of Zhangwu, Lin Biao ordered the second and seventh columns to rest on the spot, the first, eighth, and ninth columns advanced to Heishan and Dahushan, and the fourth column continued to disrupt traffic between Liaoyang and Shenyang. Seeing that the Democratic Alliance Army was scattered around at this time, Chen Cheng secretly rejoiced, and decided to concentrate his forces in the triangle area of ​​Xinmin, Faku, and Shenyang to fight the third, sixth, and tenth column of the Democratic Alliance Army. On January 1, 1948, Chen Cheng mobilized all mobile troops and fanned northward from Shenyang, Tieling, and Xinmin in three routes.Among them, the main forces of the New 3rd Army and the New 6th Army were on the right, the 195th and 43rd Divisions of the New 5th Army were on the left, and the main forces of the New 1st Army and the 71st Army were in the middle. When Lin Biao saw that the Kuomintang army that had shrunk in the city finally came out, he slapped the table with joy: "Okay, this old turtle has finally shown itself. This time we will cut down his new 5th army first." On January 2, Lin Biao sent a telegram to the 16th Division of the Sixth Column: The new 5th Division of the Kuomintang will come to you soon, and you must stick to the princess village. On January 3, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 7th Columns respectively received urgent orders from Lin Biao: hurry to Gongzhutun and prepare to wipe out the enemy. At this time, the New 5th Army of the Kuomintang didn't know that Lin Biao had already raised his machete and was marching forward complacently.Chen Linda, the commander of the New 5th Army, was originally the commander of the 195th Division of the 71st Army. Now Chen Cheng has been promoted to a higher post, and he is trying to take the opportunity to make another military exploit. On January 1, Chen Linda set off from Shenyang by train, got off at Juliuhe Station, and then proceeded along the road to Gongzhutun.The whole division only brought food and necessities for three days, thinking that the battle would be resolved soon. On the 2nd, the leading troops of the New 5th Army entered Gongzhutun, Huangjiashan and other places, and had small-scale battles with the Sixth Column of the Democratic Alliance Army guarding there.Chen Linda immediately urged the rear troops to advance at full speed. The 195th Division attacked Shilibao and Wujiazi, and the 43rd Division focused on attacking Huangjiashan.The battle continued until the evening of the 4th, when reinforcements from the Democratic Alliance Army arrived one after another.At this time, Chen Linda realized that he was in danger of being completely surrounded, so he urgently sent a telegram to Chen Cheng for help, asking Liao Yaoxiang and Li Tao's New Army to approach him quickly, and asking himself to retreat to the Juliu River area. Chen Cheng was startled when he heard the report. He was confused at first and didn't know what to do. Most of the officials around him were from Du Yuming's old department.Therefore, Chen Cheng hesitated for a whole day before deciding to order the new 5th Army to withdraw to Shenyang.It's a pity that he delayed for a day. It was too late to order at this moment. Lin Biao had already firmly surrounded Chen Linda's new 5th Army. People from all walks of life who came to rescue from the periphery were also unable to move forward.The New 3rd Army and the New 6th Army were stopped by the Ten Zong in the Shifosi and Huangjiashan areas more than 10 kilometers east of Gongzhutun.The New 1st Army and the 71st Army were blocked by the First Column and the Third Column on the south bank of the Liaohe River. Beginning on January 5, Lin Biao ordered all the columns to destroy the New 5th Army with all their strength. The battle continued until the afternoon of January 7, when the gunfire on the battlefield gradually fell silent. He and more than 13,000 officers and soldiers were all taken prisoners, plus more than 7,000 people were killed and injured, and none of the more than 20,000 people in the New Fifth Army escaped, and they were all wiped out. After the Battle of Gongzhutun, Lin Biao did not allow the troops to rest, and immediately ordered the First Column, Eighth Column, and Independent 2nd Division to quickly capture Xinlitun, which had been besieged by the 24th Division of the Eighth Column for a month.The Xinlitun garrison is the 26th Division of the 49th Army. When they learned that the Democratic Alliance Army had arrived, they fled in collective makeup. When they were discovered, they surrendered without any resistance. More than 7,000 people did not fire a single shot, and they all behaved obediently made a prisoner. During the winter offensive, the Democratic Allied Forces defeated Zhangwu, Gongzhutun, and Xinlitun, and wiped out the New Fifth Army, which greatly shocked Chen Cheng and Chiang Kai-shek.Chen Cheng was so anxious that he had a stomach attack and was bedridden.On the one hand, he urgently transferred the main forces of the 52nd Army in Liaoyang and the 71st Army in Siping to Shenyang to stabilize the situation; On January 10, 1948, Chiang Kai-shek flew to Shenyang with Liu Fei, Deputy Minister of National Defense, and Fan Hanjie, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army, and immediately convened a military meeting. The senior Kuomintang generals who participated in the meeting were all in fear, wondering who Chiang Kai-shek was going to question and hold accountable.When Chiang Kai-shek entered the meeting room accompanied by Chen Cheng with a livid face, all the generals stood up straight, but their hearts were beating wildly. Sure enough, as soon as the meeting started, Chiang Kai-shek lost his temper, scolding the generals in the Northeast for their incompetence in command and ineffective combat, and sent off all the good troops in batches.Afterwards, he turned his spearhead and turned directly to Liao Yaoxiang and Li Tao: "The New Army did not obey the order, supported the troops to protect themselves, and refused to save them. The entire New Fifth Army was wiped out. You cannot shirk your responsibility!" When Liao Yaoxiang and Li Tao heard this, they were simply baffled, and immediately stood up to argue: the New Army had never received an order to rescue the New Fifth Army, and they could not be responsible for it. Seeing that his excuses were exposed, Chen Cheng hurriedly stood up to defend himself, and the three of them quarreled together. In the end, Chen Cheng was at a loss for words, so he had to say in frustration: "The new 5th Army was wiped out, and it was entirely because of my incompetent command. Please punish the president according to party discipline and state law. To suspend military discipline." Chiang Kai-shek waved his hand and said: "The battle is going on, let's judge the merits and demerits after the war is over." He left the table after speaking. Chen Cheng hurriedly followed behind, blaming himself and swearing: "I am determined to defend Shenyang. If the Communist Party attacks Shenyang, I am determined to live with Shenyang and commit suicide with a pistol." But what is said is what is said, what is done is what is done.Chen Cheng didn't stay in Northeast for a few more days, and he resigned from the position of director of Northeast Xingyuan through personal relationship, and left Shenyang on February 5. When Chen Cheng left the Northeast, public opinion in the Kuomintang was uproarious.Feeling that he could no longer gain a foothold in China, Chen Cheng asked Chiang Kai-shek for leave to go to the United States for medical treatment.Unfortunately, at this time, the Kuomintang was holding a National Assembly. When the representatives heard about this, they raised their arms and shouted: "Kill Chen Cheng to thank the people of the country!"Don't let Chen Cheng escape to the United States! Chen Cheng was so frightened that he didn't dare to mention going to the United States anymore, so he had to lie down in the Army Hospital of the Shanghai Joint Logistics Headquarters, refusing to come forward on the grounds that he would concentrate on treating diseases. Chen Cheng was self-righteous and wanted to gain fame in the Northeast, but he didn't want to be defeated even worse than Du Yuming.Chiang Kai-shek was angry and anxious about it, so he had to find another master. Taking advantage of the chaos of the Kuomintang army in the northeast, Lin Biao stepped up the reorganization of the army. According to the order of the Central Military Commission, in January 1948, the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army was renamed the Northeast People's Liberation Army, the field army command organization was separated from the military area, and the original leadership organization remained unchanged. After Lin Biao led the crowd to wipe out the New 5th Army, he summed up his combat experience in time and further expanded the field troops. A large number of well-trained second-line corps were incorporated into the main column. In February 1948, the original nine independent divisions were reorganized, and the fifth, eleventh and twelfth columns were newly established.Among them, the three independent divisions in Nanman were reorganized into the fifth column, with Wan Yi as the commander and Liu Xingyuan as the political commissar, under the jurisdiction of the 13th, 14th, and 15th divisions; the three independent divisions in the Hebei-Chahareliao Military Region were reorganized into the eleventh column , He Jinnian was the commander, Chen Renqi was the political commissar, under the jurisdiction of the 31st, 32nd, and 33rd divisions; the three independent divisions in Beiman were reorganized into the twelfth column, Zhong Wei was the commander, and Yuan Shengping was the political commissar, under the jurisdiction of the 34th column. , 35, 36 divisions.The leadership team of the original nine columns has also been adjusted accordingly. The commander of the first column is Li Tianyou, political commissar Liang Biye; the second column commander Liu Zhen, political commissar Wu Faxian; the third column commander Han Xianchu, political commissar Luo Shunchu; the fourth column commander Wu Kehua, political commissar Mo Wenhua, Commander of the Sixth Column, Huang Yongsheng, Political Commissar Lai Chuanzhu; Commander of the Seventh Column, Deng Hua, Political Commissar Wu Fushan; Commander of the Eighth Column, Duan Suquan, Political Commissar Qiu Huizuo; Commander of the Ninth Column, Zhan Caifang, Political Commissar Li Zhongquan; Commander of the Tenth Column, Liang Xingchu, Political Commissar Zhou Chiping.At the same time, 11 independent divisions and 1 cavalry division were newly established from the local troops, and the total force continued to grow, forming an absolute advantage over the Kuomintang army.Strategically, the northern line has formed a tendency to encircle Changchun and intimidate Shenyang; the southern line occupies the Tai'an, Beizhen, and Jianchang areas, prestige Jinzhou, and Beining Road. In this excellent situation, Lin Biao sent a telegram on January 30 to order the Fourth Column and the Sixth Column to launch an attack again, directly taking Liaoyang. The next day, heavy snow fell suddenly in the Northeast, and the snowflakes danced, making it impossible to distinguish between heaven and earth.The People's Liberation Army couldn't see the military targets in Liaoyang clearly, so they had to observe carefully while asking the people.The preparatory work took 5 days. At 7 o'clock on February 6, Wu Kehua commanded the four verticals to launch a general attack on Liaoyang in the ice and snow.With the cooperation of the six verticals, after 8 hours of fighting, the city was captured and the enemy was wiped out. The good news spread to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Mao Zedong stood in front of the map, carefully inspected the map of Northeast China, and replied to Lin Biao on February 7: At present, the Kuomintang army has become weak in the Northeast. We must make preparations to prevent the enemy from moving from the northeast to the north. Retreat; for the strategic interests of our army, it is most beneficial to seal off Jiang's army and annihilate them in the northeast.Now we should use the freezing period to fight for another two months to wipe out more enemies. After Lin Biao received Mao Zedong's call back, he made a preliminary calculation of the weather conditions in the Northeast, and suddenly felt that the task was arduous.Because at the beginning of March, the ice age ended, the river could not bear horses and horses, and the roads became increasingly muddy, which was not conducive to combat. Now we must hurry up and create another record within a limited period of more than 20 days. On February 12th, Lin Biao ordered the Four Columns and Six Columns to rest for only 4 days: keep going and capture Anshan! The next day, the 10th, 11th, and 12th Divisions of the Four Columns, the 17th and 18th Divisions of the Sixth Column, the 1st Liaonan Independent Division and the Artillery Division, a total of 7 divisions and more than 70 artillery pieces, gathered under the city of Anshan.After careful preparation and full coordination, the offensive began on the morning of February 16. By the 19th, more than 13,000 people from the 25th Division of the 52nd Army guarding Anshan were all wiped out. After Anshan was liberated, Lin Biao ordered Si Zong to take a short rest and quickly go south to take advantage of the victory to fight Yingkou again.The 58th Division temporarily defending the enemy in Yingkou saw that the People's Liberation Army had come so bravely, and dared not fight.Wang Jiashan, the deputy commander of the division, sent someone to deliver a letter requesting to lead his troops to revolt, and the time was set in mid-March.Lin Biao didn't believe it because he had already suffered from the uprising and mutiny of the Kuomintang army, so he ordered the four verticals to launch the attack according to the original plan, and at the same time replied to Wang Jiashan: If you want an uprising, uprising immediately.Wang Jiashan had no choice, so he led the crowd to arrest Zheng Mingxin, the deputy commander of the 52nd Army, and the leaders of the Yingkou puppet city government and police station on February 26. After the uprising, Yingkou was liberated smoothly. In just 20 days, Lin Biao went down to three important cities of the Kuomintang, panicking the Kuomintang troops defending each stronghold.Calls for help and emergency telegrams from all over the country flew to Shenyang and Nanjing like snowflakes.Seeing that the situation in Northeast China was deteriorating, Chiang Kai-shek was extremely anxious, and he could not let the elite Kuomintang troops in Shenyang sit still. On February 20, he sent people to Shenyang to deliver an order: leave the 53rd Army and 207th Division to defend Shenyang, and the rest of the main force will withdraw to Jinzhou as soon as possible. Quickly withdrew into the pass. But when the order arrived in Shenyang, it was immediately rejected.Who is so courageous to resist Chiang Kai-shek's order?It was none other than Wei Lihuang, the new commander-in-chief of the Northeast "Suppression General" who had always disobeyed Chiang Kai-shek's orders. Who is Wei Lihuang? Wei Lihuang, whose courtesy name is Junru, was born in Anhui. He is one of the "Five Tiger Generals" of the Kuomintang Army.During the War of Resistance Against Japan, he severely damaged the Japanese army in Xinkou, and later took over as the commander of the Chinese Expeditionary Force to fight in Burma. He quickly turned the tide of the war and commanded the troops to break through the Nujiang River to defeat the Japanese army.Wei Lihuang grew up in a poor family, but he was quite chivalrous and courageous. He received autographed photos from Sun Yat-sen himself, and had contact with Zhang Xueliang, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Mao Zedong, etc. to varying degrees.Because Chiang Kai-shek was quite dissatisfied with his repeated contacts with the Communist Party, Wei Lihuang's status has always been ups and downs.After the end of the Anti-Japanese War, Chiang Kai-shek established the Army General Command in Kunming, appointed He Yingqin as the commander-in-chief and Wei Lihuang as the deputy commander-in-chief.Wei Lihuang was dissatisfied with this, and went to Japan, the United States, Britain, France and other countries to inspect the military with his newlywed wife Han Quanhua.He did not return to Shanghai until October 1947. At the beginning of 1948, Chen Cheng suffered repeated disadvantages in the Northeast. Chiang Kai-shek suddenly thought of Wei Lihuang, notified him to attend the military meeting, and told him that he was going to set up a "suppression general" in the Northeast, hoping that Wei Lihuang could be the Northeast "suppression general" Commander in Chief. Wei Lihuang originally wanted to decline, but he couldn't find a good reason. At this time, because Chen Cheng was eager to leave the Northeast, he had already opened up various lobbyists. Chief of Staff Gu Zhutong, Chiang Kai-shek's chief think tank Zhang Qun and others came to persuade him , Wei Lihuang was at a loss. Chiang Kai-shek struck while the iron was hot, and said to Wei Lihuang earnestly: "The Northeast is a place bigger than the big countries in Western Europe. The heavy industry there accounts for more than half of China, and it is the lifeline of our national rejuvenation. People's hearts. But now that the Northeast is facing a crisis, who can turn the tide? Du Yuming can't do it, Chen Cheng can't do it, I think only you can take on this important task." Wei Lihuang just listened. Seeing that Wei Lihuang did not refuse, Chiang Kai-shek went on to say: "Now you are in charge of all aspects of the party, government and military in the Northeast. If you have any difficulties, please bring them up at any time, and we will give priority to solving them. In case of defeat in the war, this responsibility will also It can't be your responsibility." After hearing this, Wei Lihuang finally hesitated to express his opinion: "Now the Northeast Army is under siege, I am afraid it will not work without a large number of reinforcements." Chiang Kai-shek hurriedly said: "Yes, this is a problem. How about this, I will give you five reinforcements first, and the logistics will also give priority to supplying the Northeast." Wei Lihuang couldn't say anything more, so he agreed, "Then, let me go and have a look first." Seeing that Wei Lihuang finally agreed, Chiang Kai-shek announced on January 17, 1948 that Wei Lihuang was appointed "Commander-in-Chief of Northeast Suppression", and Zheng Dongguo and Fan Hanjie were deputy commanders-in-chief. On January 21, Wei Lihuang flew from Nanjing to Peiping, discussed with Li Zongren and Fu Zuoyi about mutual coordination, and arrived in Shenyang the next day to serve as the director of Dongbei Xingyuan. On February 1, the Kuomintang revoked the Northeast Xingyuan and established the Northeast "Bandit Suppression" General Headquarters. Wei Lihuang officially assumed the post of commander-in-chief. 上任之后，卫立煌认真分析了东北形势，认为国民党军在东北必须坚持这样的战略：扩充实力，稳扎稳打，固守要点，静观待变。他重点提拔了一批被陈诚弃而不用的将领，并重新进行了军事部署，将各种武装共55万人划分成三大块，分别固守在长春、沈阳和锦州。其中，自己率东北“剿总”司令部及直属部队、周福成的第8兵团、廖耀湘的第9兵团共8个军24个师又3个旅约30万人，驻守沈阳及外围城市铁岭、抚顺、本溪、新民等地；东北“剿总”副总司令兼第1兵团司令郑洞国率2个军、6个师又3个旅约10万人，防守长春；另一个副总司令兼锦州指挥所主任、冀热辽边区司令范汉杰率卢浚泉的第6兵团及其他部队共4个军14个师约15万人，防守在锦州，保卫锦州、山海关间的铁路交通。 卫立煌认为，目前在东北的关键是守住这三个据点，以沈阳为基地，不断壮大，逐渐外扩，这样才有希望重新夺回东北。为了这个主要目的，可以不再理会个别小城镇的失守，因为林彪的惯用手法就是围城打援，所以，对于被围困的小城市，可以不去救援，这样，林彪将无援可打，国民党军的实力就可以得到最大程度的保存。 正是由于卫立煌对各个小城市被困不予救援，各地守军只好紧急向蒋介石求助。蒋介石深恐东北实力不保，便下令卫立煌退出沈阳，开往锦州。 卫立煌本人正在苦心经营沈阳，想将其建成最大的战略基地，接到此令，脸色大变，立即派郑洞国飞往庐山，声称沈阳主力部队不能丢下吉林和长春不管，况且开往锦州途中必遭林彪沿路打击，将会带来更大损失。 蒋介石不为所动，告诉郑洞国：目前沈阳已成孤城，只得靠空降物资维持，这不是长久之策，只有先去锦州，在形势有利之时才有机会退入关中，否则可能全军覆灭。 卫立煌听了郑洞国的汇报，仍然抗命不遵，继续向蒋介石陈述自己的意见。最后，蒋介石无奈，让出了一小步：允许东北维持现状，但卫立煌要加紧整训部队，待条件许可，就从沈阳打向锦州。 趁此机会，林彪连续发起进攻，短短数日之后，沈阳以北就只剩下长春、吉林和四平三个孤立据点了。面对这个形势，林彪作出新的决策：在解冰期到来之前集中主力夺取四平，切断沈阳与长春间的联系，争取将沈阳守敌吸引出来，再歼灭一批。 1948年2月27日，林彪令一纵、三纵、七纵和炮兵主力统归李天佑指挥，再攻四平。其余纵队负责四周打援。 3月2日，东北人民解放军再聚四平城下，将整个四平城围成一只铁桶。林彪此次行动，大出国民党守军意料之外，他们没有想到解放军在此屡屡受挫，却仍然念念不忘。前一段时间，陈诚为了保住沈阳，已将71军军部及87、91师调到了新民一带，四平只留下88师和保安队等总计1.9万多人防守。新任71军军长刘安祺在离开四平时忧心忡忡地对留守在城中的88师师长彭锷说：“现在的四平已经是一个没有盖上盖儿的棺材了，就等着共军来钉钉儿了。”彭锷虽然也知道四平危险，却没想到林彪这么快就杀来了。 李天佑因为上次攻打四平不利，至今仍怒火在胸，主攻部队到齐后，便下令清除四平外围一切敌军。到3月8日，解放军拿下了在四平外围最坚固的阵地——三道林子地堡群，四平城攻坚战即将打响。 3月12日，正是一场大雪过后，天色初晴。解放军步兵、炮兵踏着厚厚的白雪，迅速进入阵地。7时40分，五颗信号弹闪着彩光飞上天空。一瞬间，各阵地上火炮齐吼，山林震撼。四平城顿时黑烟弥漫，处处喊杀声震天。解放军一纵、三纵、七纵和独立2师分别从五个方向发起突然进攻。不到半个小时，各纵队全部攻入城中，彭锷惊慌失措，忙带着各部人马向东区收缩，意欲集中顽抗。解放军穷追猛打，当日晚，已将国民党军逼入四平城东北角的化工厂和发电所一带。 13日晨，天刚蒙蒙亮，解放军各纵队已将四平东北角死死围住。一阵炮声过后，各路人马奋起冲锋，迅速地结束了战斗。这次攻取四平仅仅用了23个小时，19，000多国民党守军除了4，000多人被毙伤，其余全都当了俘虏。 东北人民解放军日益壮大，所向披靡，让国民党军人人自危。早在林彪派兵初至四平城下，郑洞国就感到大事不妙了，他从蒋介石与卫立煌的争吵中更是觉得东北前途无望。3月初，郑洞国借口胃病发作，向卫立煌请假，要求到北平就医。卫立煌自是不允，无奈郑洞国打通数人前来充当说客，卫立煌只好同意。郑洞国如愿以偿，兴高采烈，打点行装、订好机票，正待起身。谁知东北形势突变，卫立煌接到报告，解放军大批涌向四平。细一盘算，卫卫煌面色顿变，四平守军有限，战斗力不强，必将失守，此后，林彪将攻打吉林或长春。为保存力量，卫立煌决定放弃吉林，将驻在那里的60军向长春撤退，两处合兵，以力保一处不失，否则，极有可能被林彪逐个吃掉。于是，他急令郑洞国放弃治病，速往吉林部署撤退。 3月8日上午，郑洞国乘飞机抵达吉林，立即在60军军部召开紧急会议，命令军长曾泽生马上带兵撤往长春。接此命令，曾泽生大吃一惊：“马上就撤？” 郑洞国不予解释：“今天晚上就开始行动，要迅速，争取在共军得知消息前进入长春。”曾泽生愣了半天，才回应道：“是！”郑洞国摆了摆手，说道：“快去准备吧。” 曾泽生急冲冲地去下达撤退任务，忽听得郑洞国叫住了自己：“还有一件事，记住：撤退之前务必把小丰满水电站彻底炸掉。” 当天傍晚，吉林城内一片混乱。国民党政府官员、地主商人拉家带口，开着汽车、赶着马车争先恐后地逃出城区，各大道路水泄不通。曾泽生亲自指挥特务营维持秩序，将军民分成两路。杂乱无章的人群乱哄哄地未走出5公里，忽听得身后轰隆轰隆的一阵爆炸声。郑洞国以为曾泽生已炸掉了小丰满水电站。在忙乱之中他却没有注意到，吉林城内仍然是处处灯光。 原来是曾泽生不忍心炸了水电站，只是让后面的部队把带不走的弹药销毁了。由于60军本来是云南王龙云的部队，曾泽生来到东北，饱受国民党嫡系将领的刁难，早已心怀不满。 3月10日，林彪得知吉林守军已悄然撤往长春，暗吃一惊，匆匆调令东满独立师沿路追击。但由于动身已晚，直追到太平岭一带才赶上60军。双方进行了短暂的交火，60军丢下拖后的运输团，很快就与从长春来接应的新7军38师会合，于11日逃进了长春。 两天后，林彪已打下四平。至此，国民党在东北只剩下沈阳、长春、锦州、营口等几座孤城，被解放军团团包围，相互之间无法接应，城中物资只能靠空运补给。 此时，卫立煌已是坐卧不安，就剩这几座城市了，不敢轻易再做放弃了。自郑洞国指挥吉林守军退入长春后，卫立煌令郑洞国留在长春，主持军务。郑洞国拒命不从，乘飞机返回沈阳，强烈要求去北平治病。最终只得蒋介石出面，严令郑洞国防守长春。 郑洞国长叹一声，自认命运不济，满怀凄凉地于3月下旬飞回长春。