Chapter 23 Chapter 22 Marching into Yunnan, "Do not leave future troubles for the people of Yunnan"

When Chiang Kai-shek heard the news of Lu Han's uprising, he was furious. On December 13, he personally held a meeting in Taiwan to deploy a counterattack against Kunming. Tang Yao cried as soon as he was captured, and said in a trembling voice: "I am a prisoner sent by plane." The head of the group spoke slowly and calmly, and did not choose any surprising sentences, but they were fascinating. "What is the motherland? This river, the house by the river, the adults and children living in the house, their present and future... plus this five-star red flag, this is the motherland. To defend the motherland, we must first defend Stop them!"

The morning of December 9, 1949. A plane roared as it approached Kunming, which was surrounded by war.It was Zhang Qun who was ordered by Chiang Kai-shek to prepare for the relocation of the Kuomintang Ministry of National Defense and Army Headquarters to Yunnan. But Zhang Qun didn't know that Lu Han, chairman of the Yunnan Provincial Government of the Kuomintang, had already contacted the CCP and was planning an uprising. Zhang Qun did not expect that he was detained by Lu Han under the pretext of holding a meeting as soon as he got off the plane.Li Mi, commander of the 8th Army, and Yu Chengwan, commander of the 26th Army, were also detained together with important civil and military officials.In addition, Lu Han resolutely disarmed the KMT central system’s organs and troops stationed in Kunming, occupied airports, stations, and important military sites, and detained all planes and KMT planes from Chengdu via Kunming to Hong Kong and Taiwan, and from Kunming to Chengdu and other places. officials, while imposing a curfew.

On the morning of December 10, the five-star red flag was raised in Kunming.Kunming was peacefully liberated.Lu Han solemnly announced the peaceful uprising on the radio station, and read out the "Kunming Peaceful Uprising Declaration". When Chiang Kai-shek learned of the news of the Leuven uprising, he was furious. On December 13, he personally held a meeting in Taiwan to deploy a counterattack against Kunming.At the same time, the 8th Army and the 26th Army were reorganized. Each army was issued 100,000 silver dollars to form the 8th Army, which was under the unified command of Tang Yao. Counterattack.

Regarding the enemy's attack, although Lu Han had prepared in advance, the enemy army was about 60,000, and the uprising troops were only 40,000.Therefore, in the face of a powerful offensive, the front line had to be retracted, resulting in the loss of Wujiaba Airport. For a while, the situation in Kunming was very tense. On the 19th, the enemy army launched an all-out general attack on the core position of the city defense. Under the cover of heavy artillery fire, hundreds of thousands of enemies charged in waves. By 9 pm, the enemy army organized death squads in an attempt to rush into the city.

At this extremely critical time, Lu Han received a call from Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping, saying that he had ordered the 5th Corps to transport troops by car overnight to help Kunming.Immediately afterwards, Yang Yong also called to inform that he had sent a division to Yunnan, and the vanguard would arrive in Qujing on the 23rd. The news spread to the insurrectionary troops, which greatly boosted morale and reversed their worries and complaints.So despite the enemy's fierce attack, they still failed to submit. A division of the 5th Corps arrived in the Qujing area ahead of schedule on the 22nd by car. After destroying a part of the enemy, it went to Luliang, and then wiped out the remnants of the 19th Corps of He Shaozhou, the 3rd Division of the 8th Army, and the Gendarmerie Regiment of the Army Headquarters. , more than 1,000 people, and the troops of the Yunnan-Guangxi-Guizhou border column were attacked and harassed by the enemy at the rear and the transportation line. The enemy's 8th Corps was forced to give up its attempt to capture Kunming and retreat southward in a hurry; the 26th Army retreated to Mengzi and Gejiu. In the area, the 8th Corps and the 8th Army retreated to Kaiyuan and Jianshui.

In order to prevent the enemy from fleeing south, the 5th Corps stopped advancing in the Qujing area. After the Battle of Guangdong and Guangxi, the troops of the 4th Corps were extremely tired.However, in order to complete the established tasks assigned by the Military Commission to liberate Yunnan and consolidate national defense, they intercepted the 8th Corps of the Kuomintang.Chen Geng ordered an army to immediately march into Yunnan and go straight out of Mengzi County to seize the airport.He ordered the two divisions of the Fourth Field Army stationed in Baise to march along the national border and occupy the Yunnan Hekou and Jinping lines.

On December 27, 1949, two divisions of the Fourth Field Army set out from the Baise area, marched more than 500 kilometers along the national border, and occupied Hekou, an important town on the border between Yunnan and Vietnam. On the 14th, our leading troops rushed to the Manyak Ferry on the Red River again, occupied the pontoon bridge that the enemy had just erected, liberated Pingbian County on the same day, and blocked the land passage of the 8th Corps. This unexpected blow made Tang Yao panic, and stepped up the airlift at Mengzi Airport, trying to slip away from the sky.After transporting away part of the troops directly under the 26th Army, Tang Yao discovered that the entire army could never be transported by air with just a few planes.In order to make the remaining troops loyal to the Kuomintang, he issued an order, saying that "in order to commemorate the officials at all levels of the army, the family members must be airlifted to a safe place as soon as possible."

Unexpectedly, all the officers were frightened by this "body thought" and panicked. Some asked their family members not to be allowed to go, some reasoned that their wives would return to their natal homes, and some said that women were from Yunnan and did not want to leave home... So Tang Yao issued another urgent order, asking the officers to "receive Shangfeng's kindness" and quickly hand over their family members. If anyone deliberately neglects to hide and refuses to hand over, he must be severely punished for disobedience to the order. The "emergency order" was still of no avail. The 277th Regiment of the 93rd Division escaped five company commanders with their families in two days. Those who walk, the same law." And killed a platoon leader who resisted the order in Kaiyuan, shot a battalion commander and two company commanders in Mengzi, and locked all the junior officers of the 93rd Division with their families in a confinement room, and then put them His wife and children all rushed to Mengzi Airport.At this time, the crying was loud, and some threw themselves into the lake...

On New Year's Day in 1950, two divisions of the 4th Corps set out from the Nanning area and marched forward bravely.Army commander Zhou Xihan, political commissar Liu Youguang and other leaders at all levels set out with light clothes and marched with the soldiers on foot.Camping on the top of the mountain, camping on the river beach, marching more than 50 kilometers a day. On January 13, a division of the 4th Corps entered Yanshan County, and learned that Mengzi Airport was busy with air transport and had not yet discovered the situation of our army's actions. That night, the unit only slept for 4 hours, and with an extremely tenacious spirit, it marched all day and night Arrived in the east of Mengzi City, bypassed the security forces, and went straight to the heart of the enemy.

At 20:00 on January 15, the 110th regiment occupied the periphery of the airport, and then quickly launched an attack on the airport. The enemy who woke up from his sleep did not expect that the People's Liberation Army was calling, and thought it was harassment by the guerrillas. After fighting for a while, they realized that "something was wrong."The planes parked at the airport immediately took off in a panic. Our army rushed into the airport after the first plane took off, the second plane was hit and caught fire, and the third plane was completely captured.When Battalion Commander An Yufeng led two messengers to his 8th company, he accidentally passed the enemy's artillery position. The enemy asked the password, and An Yufeng immediately replied: "My own people."

Approaching the enemy artillery position, An Yufeng shouted "I am the People's Liberation Army!" The enemy was so frightened that he lost his mind and replied: "The People's Liberation Army is better. We have long wanted to find the People's Liberation Army." They surrendered with four anti-aircraft guns.Then, an artillery battalion and an infantry battalion of the enemy also disarmed. After a night of fierce fighting, in the early morning of the 16th, Mengzi Airport was completely occupied. At about 6 o'clock, when the sky was about to dawn, Mengzi County was completely liberated. There are 15 "horse stations" from Baise to Mengzi in Guangxi Province, each station is 90 miles away. The enemy estimates that it will take at least 20 days for our army to arrive. At first, they thought that guerrillas had occupied the river mouth.When the troops of the 4th Corps marched for 9 days and 9 nights, they suddenly descended from the middle, and the enemy was completely in a panic.The remnants of the 26th Army of the Kuomintang fled in the direction of Gejiu City in a hurry, and the 8th Corps and 8th Army in Kaiyuan also hurriedly fled westward. Chen Geng made a decisive decision: with the strength of the 4 regiments of the 4th Corps, go out of the middle road and pursue in the direction of Gejiu and Jianshui; on the south road, the main force of the troops occupying Hekou continues to advance westward along the Honghe River; Fighting around the region, determined to wipe out the enemy within the borders. After issuing the order, Chen Geng specifically instructed: All troops should not be afraid to stay away from the main force, dare to win more with less, boldly wedge deep into the enemy, or implement a roundabout encirclement, block and attack the fleeing enemy, and strive to wipe them out, so as not to leave future troubles for the people of Yunnan. So, all the cadres and soldiers, who had not slept well for many days, pursued westward regardless of day and night, traveling 130, 150, 160 every day... Finally, people stopped counting miles and kept rushing forward anyway.Some soldiers were so hungry and tired that they fell down on the side of the road and snored and fell asleep as soon as they stopped.Some fell asleep standing up. At dawn on the 17th, the troops in the middle route caught up with the fleeing enemy, and the 110th regiment compressed the main force of the enemy in Gejiu City, and immediately organized a siege. After 6 hours of fierce fighting, they broke into the city from three directions and wiped out 1,900 people from the 193rd Division. The world-famous Xicheng was liberated. On the 18th, another division pursued by the middle road discovered that the 237th Division of the 26th Army of the enemy was attempting to flee south to the Hebang Ferry.Therefore, the troops forcibly marched to reach Yide before the enemy, seized Niedekele Mountain, and blocked the enemy's escape route.The enemy turned red-eyed anxiously, and began to rush towards our army's position with a company.After being frustrated, two companies were organized to attack again under the cover of superior firepower from mortars and heavy machine guns. Our army's position was severely destroyed and the situation was extremely difficult.At this time, the platoon leader Guo Chunsheng personally led the 11th squad to attack, rushed out of the position, and repelled the enemy. Then, the enemy transferred two more battalions.Under the cover of fierce artillery fire, they charged to the 1st row of positions in batches.The enemy was outnumbered, and I had casualties, the enemy rushed between the 10th and 12th squads and occupied our position. The situation is very critical! At this time, Guo Chunsheng led the 11th squad to wedge into the enemy group from the left, charged bravely, and repelled the enemy again! The enemy was still not reconciled, and concentrated the heavy firearms of the whole division to bombard the 3rd row of positions violently. The artillery fire was flying and the fortifications were severely destroyed.However, with the heroism of "not giving up an inch of ground, people are in the position", the soldiers stood firm in the smoky position and fought fiercely with the enemy. Squad 10 fought hand-to-hand with the enemy on the right wing, and Squad 11 and Squad 12 fought hand-to-hand with the enemy on the front.During the fierce battle, Guo Chunsheng rushed forward, fought the enemy hand-to-hand, knocked down the enemy machine gunner, grabbed the machine gun and swept across the charging enemy, hitting the enemy down like cut grass... On the 24th, our army launched a general attack on the besieged enemy, and the squads and platoons penetrated deep like sharp knives. The 2nd Battalion of the 109th Regiment created an example of a squad that wiped out 800 enemies. The two companies of the 110th regiment braved the blockade of the enemy's three-sided firepower net, rushed into a deep valley overgrown with thorns, and captured Cao Tiange, the commander of the 8th Army.Soon, 8 soldiers from a company captured Tang Yao, the deputy commander-in-chief of the enemy army alive. Tang Yao cried as soon as he was captured, and said in a trembling voice, "I am a prisoner sent by plane." Indeed, when the 8th Army and the 26th Army retreated from Kunming, Tang Yao flew to Taiwan and participated in the discussion of the war situation at the Ministry of National Defense. At the meeting, Chiang Kai-shek decided to call him to Mengzi and airlift the 26th Army to Taiwan.Because Li Mi was from Yunnan, he and Li Mi were asked to lead the 8th Army to "persevere" in western Yunnan, waiting for the Kuomintang to counterattack the mainland.For this reason, Chiang Kai-shek ordered him to be promoted to deputy commander-in-chief of the army. On January 12, he and Gu Zhutong arrived in Mengzi by plane. On the second day, a meeting of officers above the school level was held. Gu Zhutong announced that the 8th Army would cover the 26th Army's airlift. The officers of the 8th Army rushed to leave, saying : "The 26th Army is a direct descendant, aren't we?" When it was hard to separate, the People's Liberation Army hit Mengzi with lightning speed.Gu Zhutong was afraid of being a prisoner and escaped from Cangbai on the 15th. Before leaving, he said to Tang Yao: "Take good care of the troops. I will be back tomorrow." Unexpectedly, the airport fell the next day, and Tang Yao heard that the escape route had been blocked by the People's Liberation Army. prisoners of our army. During the Battle of Yuanjiang, all the participating troops of the 4th Corps launched a pursuit under the instruction of Commander Chen Geng to "wipe out all the remnants of the enemy in Yunnan and leave no future troubles". A part of the Central Army, under the leadership of the division commander Zhou Xueyi, waved the Gosi finger, and started a forced march on the 28th.They crossed Ailao Mountain, crossed the Amo River, and passed through the miasma area... On February 4, they finally caught up with the enemy in Zhenyuan County.The 170th Division of the enemy saw that we were few people, so organized a "brave team" to pounce on our 5th company's position more than 20 times. The 5th company's bullets ran out, and the company commander was injured. attack.Fighting hand-to-hand with the rushing enemies, they finally held their positions. Although the enemy is outnumbered, but the enemy is a frightened bird. Facing our victorious division, they dare not love to fight and flee westward quickly.How can we catch up with this enemy?Master Zhou decided to follow up with a small force, and the main force marched 90 kilometers overnight to get in front of the enemy. On February 5, they really surpassed the enemy and took control of dangerous places such as Mengtong and Huangcaoling to the west of Zhenyuan County. None succeeded, the enemy was cornered and forced to surrender. On the other hand, the two battalions of the 37th Division, which were chasing the enemy, wiped out one battalion of the 13th Gendarmerie Regiment in Mojiang County on February 6, and then swung their south fingers. , Overtook the remnants of the enemy's 170th Division in Xishuangbanna on the night of the 19th.After fierce fighting, more than 600 enemies were wiped out, and the task of "not leaving trouble for the people of Yunnan" was completed, the beautiful Xishuangbanna was liberated, and the red flag was planted in Daluo, an important border town. This is the Army of the Four World Wars that the Second Field Army set out from the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan border area, the land of the Four World Wars, and the first team to enter the southern border of the motherland. One of the writers who accompanied the 4th Corps on the march described this great moment in passionate and poetic language: "Long live our flag!" ... The head of the regiment walked up to the team and asked loudly: "Comrades, do you know where this is?" Everyone answered in unison: "Dongxing!" "What kind of river is that!" The head of the group looked affectionately at a river behind him.The river was yellowed by a heavy rain a few days ago, but it was calm and tame. Everyone asked and answered in unison: "Beilun River!" "Comrades, the instructor has just said that Dongxing Town and Beilun River are the frontiers of our great motherland... We will never want an inch of land from others, and we will never allow any enemy to occupy an inch of our land..." The leader spoke very slowly and calmly. He did not choose any amazing sentences, but they were fascinating. "What is the motherland? This river, the house by the river, the adults and children living in the house, their present and future... plus this five-star red flag, this is the motherland. To defend the motherland, we must first defend live them!" "Good! Now we raise the flag." A soldier holds the national flag in both hands, walks forward and walks towards the head of the regiment.When standing still, he knocked hard on his heels, not knowing whether it was the pain of yesterday or the joy of today that excited him, maybe both, his voice trembled slightly: "Please ask the leader to preside over the flag raising!" The head of the regiment took over the national flag and issued a short order.Immediately, more than 20 soldiers fired live ammunition into the air... Amidst the roar of bullets, the red flag flew up. Amidst the roar of bullets, the red flag flew up. The warriors lifted their heads, their eyes glowing with the greatest dignity and the greatest joy. The sun rose over the plum, and kissed the flag with its first golden rays. The wind blew, and the flag fluttered proudly, and seemed to continue to soar endlessly. She flew higher and higher, bigger and bigger, and turned into a red cloud burning with the fire of truth, carrying the battle and victory, happiness and joy of the Chinese people to the sky of the motherland... As soon as Yunnan was liberated, only the Xichang area remained in the southwestern provinces, which was still occupied by Chiang Kai-shek's remnants and defeated generals.This is their last resting place on the mainland. Besides that, they have no choice but to escape from Tibet and go abroad. Xichang is adjacent to the Jinsha River in the south, the Dadu River in the north, the Daliang Mountain barrier in the east, and the Yarlung Zangbo River in the west. It is located in the hub of Sichuan and Yunnan, and its strategic position is self-evident.For this reason, Chiang Kai-shek visited the deployment in person and appointed his confidant He Guoguang as the commander of the garrison to control the entire region.Hu Zongnan had long planned to retreat to Xichang. In mid-October 1949, Li Kungang, the director of the general office, was sent to lead the first division to airlift Xichang to operate the area.After the liberation of Chengdu, Hu Zongnan led important officials from Haikou to return to Xichang by plane on December 28, and re-launched the banner of the Southwest Military and Political Chief's Office.The next day, Chiang Kai-shek sent an urgent telegram to Hu Zongnan, entrusting him with two tasks: one was to stick to Xichang for three months, waiting for international incidents; the other was to gather troops and keep the southwestern mainland.Later, Chiang Kai-shek sent Gu Zhutong and Jiang Jingguo to Xichang secretly by plane, convened the last military meeting of the mainland attended by Li Mi, Yu Chengwan and others, and planned to defend the southwestern mainland.Hu Zongnan and others formulated a plan to stick to Xichang and flee to western Yunnan if necessary. In order to eradicate the last stronghold of the Kuomintang on the mainland, Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping ordered the 14th Army, 15th Army, and 62nd Army to carry out the Xichang Campaign with a combined north-south attack. Following the orders of Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping, the 1st Part of the 62nd Army marched from the Wenjiang area on March 12, passed through Jiajiang and Emei, conquered Fulin and Hanyuan on the 23rd, and pointed directly at the Yuexi area; From the Qujing area on the 12th, they marched in a separate route, passed through Wuding and Yuanmou, arrived at the south bank of the Jinsha River on the 19th, and liberated Huili and Ningnan on the 23rd; The first part of the 62nd Army in the Xi and Mianning areas formed a north-south pincer attack on Xichang. The soldiers of the People's Liberation Army approached the city, and the remnants of the Kuomintang who had gathered in Xichang were terrified and fled for their lives. Hundreds of people including officials from the "Xikang Provincial Government" fled north in a hurry on the 25th.Hu Zongnan and He Guoguang escaped by plane on the evening of the 26th. On the morning of the 27th, the first part of the 15th Army seized Xichang Airport, annihilated the airport defenders, and occupied Xichang City. Immediately, the 14th Army dispatched from Lufeng and Binchuan, crossed the Jinsha River to the north, and until April 1st, successively liberated Yanbian and Yanyuan.The first part of the 62nd Army marched westward from Ya'an on March 17, and liberated Shanghai and Kangding successively on March 24. By April 7, the Battle of Xichang had ended, with more than 10,000 remnants of the Kuomintang army and local troops annihilated, and 18 counties including Kangding and Luding in the southwest region were liberated. The east of the Jinsha River in Xikang Province was completely liberated, and the last Kuomintang army on the mainland was wiped out.