Chapter 17 Chapter 16 Captured Lanzhou, "Qingma Group" came to an end

The Battle of Fumei completely froze the relationship between Hu Zongnan and the two horses, and they had a big fight.Hu Zongnan accused the two horses of not even saying hello when they retreated, so that Xu Guangda stepped in from their retreating position and wiped out several of his elite divisions; He withdrew as soon as the fire was exchanged, and his troops were almost wiped out; Wang Zhiqi complained that the Xi'an Sui Department did not disclose any information to him, and his troops became cannon fodder in a daze; while Hu Zongnan called Wang Zhiqi a pig, Several armies of the communist army passed by him, but he didn't arouse his vigilance.Wang Zhiqi put the blame on Pei Changhui: "Commander Pei only cared about sleeping, and told the radio soldiers not to answer anyone's calls, which caused the military plane to be delayed, and I have nothing to do about it."

Then Liu Menglian, the commander of the 1st Division of the 1st Hu Bandit Army, also vividly described to Hu Zongnan how the radio soldiers of Pei Changhui passed by before and after, and insisted that Pei Changhui, as the supreme commander of the front line, should take full responsibility for the battle .Hu Zongnan almost gritted his teeth and said that Pei Changhui would go to the rear to "rest".On the other hand, Pei Changhui held his breath and didn't say a word from the beginning to the end.He would be happy if Hu Zongnan resigned from his post. If the fight continues like this, he will either be caught or beaten to death.But then Hu Zongnan seemed to have seen through everything, he felt that everything was God's will, it should be like this, and no one should complain.So not only did he not dismiss Pei Changhui, he didn't even punish anyone. He just transferred the heavily damaged 38th Army and 65th Army to the rear to make up for it, and that's it.

After this battle, Hu Zongnan was completely paralyzed, and all the troops were huddled in the Qinling Mountains, not daring to come out.The two horses also retreated one after another, all retreating to the Longdong area.Both sides are withdrawing, and the avenue in the middle is given up. Before the Battle of Fumei, there were two ways of fighting horses and fighting Hu, but now the situation is obvious. Although Hu Zongnan still has more than 100,000 troops, he has no power to attack; It has not suffered a major blow, and its combat effectiveness is still very strong.Peng Dehuai studied the maps for several nights before the meeting, and concluded that Erma might be stationed in the Pingliang Mountain and Liupan Mountain area.Therefore, at the meeting of cadres above the military level held on July 19, Peng Dehuai unequivocally proposed to "clamp the horse and beat the horse".He said to Zhou Shidi: "You (the 18th Corps) take an active stance to restrain Hu Zongnan in the Qinling Mountains..." Then he looked at Wang Zhen, Xu Guangda, and Yang Dezhi and said: "You (the 1st, 2nd and 19th Corps) add The 62nd Army of the 18th Corps, a total of 10 armies, will attack Pingliang in three routes and make preparations to capture Lanzhou." Peng Dehuai reported this plan to the Military Commission. Mao Zedong seemed to remember the lesson of the West Route Army's disastrous defeat back then, and he was worried. He asked eagerly: "Is it enough to chase and wipe out two horses with three corps?" Peng Dehuai was full of confidence. He believed that 10 armies could defeat the two horses by taking advantage of the victory and marching westward.

On July 21st, the sun was scorching, and the sun was like a fire. The sun poured down from mid-air, and the whole Guanzhong area seemed to be on fire.The 1st, 2nd, 19th Corps and the 62nd Army set off for Pingliang separately. Ma Bufang's original plan was to take advantage of the opportunity of becoming the military and political chief of the Northwest to set fire to the Communist Army and prove that he was the real mainstay of the Kuomintang in the Northwest.but no?Thinking of being defeated by the communist army in Xianyang, and being scratched by Peng Dehuai in Fumei, nearly two brigades were reimbursed.Now that Erma's troops were retreating all the way back, and the communist army was chasing and annihilating them with great momentum, he was very anxious.Maybe he is going to be beaten by the Communist army and wander around like Hu Zongnan before his position as the military and political chief of the Northwest is hot.He thought hard, and came up with a "Guiding Plan for the Reconciliation of the Battle of Guanshan" ("Plan for the Battle of Pingliang"), and handed it over to Liu Ren, the deputy chief and chief of staff, and said: "Go to the front and tell Jiyuan that in Ningxia and Longnan With the cooperation of the two corps, the use of Sanguankou, Guguan, Maluzhen and other pass defenses along the Lanqing Highway must block the Communist Army at the Shaanxi-Gansu border!" Ma Bufang said, "The Communist Army must be blocked at the Shaanxi-Gansu border" To put it bluntly.

According to Ma Bufang's plan, the 6 divisions of Ningma's 128th and 11th armies attached to a cavalry brigade organized defenses in the east and south of Pingliang, and formed an arc-shaped defensive zone along the lines of Sishipu, Ankouyao, and Huating to fight against the Communist army. And Qingma moved west from Ankou Kiln to Liupanshan, waited for the opportunity to detour and intersperse, counterattacked from the left, and fought a decisive battle with the Communist army. Ma Hongkui took a look at the so-called "Pingliang Battle" plan, and his round face immediately changed color: "Damn it, put us in the front as cannon fodder, and hide behind to watch the fun, I'm not so stupid!" But Chiang Kai-shek had overdone this plan, and Ma Hongkui couldn't express his dissatisfaction blatantly.His plan is to fight if he can, and to retreat to Ning immediately if he can't. But it is estimated that he can't fight.So he sent a secret telegram to Lu Zhongliang early, asking to "act according to the camera".Lu Zhongliang had been with Ma Hongkui for so many years, and after receiving the telegram, he understood what it meant.

The 1st, 2nd, and 19th Corps of our army swept all the way, including Kebin County and Xunyi County, Lingtai and Changwu on the 25th, and Jingchuan, Zhengning, Ningxian, and Longxian County on the 27th.Lu Zhongliang was stunned by the sudden momentum of a wild army, and hurriedly reported to Ma Hongkui.Without saying a word, Ma Hongkui sent 8 words: "Preserve strength, retreat to Ningxia".Lu Zhongliang commanded the troops to withdraw in a swarm, leaving the 14th Cavalry Brigade of the Ma Jiyuan Department stationed in Guguan out. "This is a good opportunity. Erma's 'Battle of Pingliang' plan went bankrupt, giving us a good chance to beat Ma Bufang's 14th Brigade!" Peng Dehuai said excitedly in the headquarters.

Zhao Shoushan has worked in the Kuomintang and is familiar with Ma Jiajun.He said worriedly: "Boss, the cavalry of the Ma family army is not for fun. Be careful, and there is only one valley to pass through Guguan, and there are high mountains on both sides. If you advance along the valley, if the cavalry rushes out, what will happen? It's unimaginable!" Zhang Zongxun took up the conversation: "I think the troops can be divided into three groups, and two groups attack its flanks from the south and north. After attracting the enemy's firepower, the middle group advances rapidly along the valley and breaks through in one fell swoop!"

Peng Dehuai thought for a while and said: "This is a way, but I'm afraid..." Before he could say "I'm afraid", Wang Zhen's telegram came.The telegram said that the 14th Cavalry Brigade did a lot of evil in the Guguan area, looting whatever they saw, and smashing it if they couldn't grab it. The common people hated them to the bone.As soon as our troops arrived there, an old man took the initiative to tell us all about the defensive formation, total strength and the location of the brigade command post of the 14th Cavalry Brigade.Now the plan of our 1st Corps is to advance towards Guguan in three routes under the cover of heavy artillery fire.He also said that he had figured out the location of the command post of the 14th Cavalry Brigade, and that he was ready to hit there with the first shot, so he was more likely to win.

Peng Dehuai handed the telegram to Zhang and Zhao and said, "That's it!" At dawn on the 28th, Wang Zhen commanded the troops to aim at the command post of the 14th Enemy Cavalry Brigade and fired the first shot.Ma Chengxian, the commander of the 14th Cavalry Brigade, crawled out of the dust. Before he understood what was going on, another shell hit him, and immediately his left arm flew out. Ma Shangwu, the brigade chief of staff who emerged from another mound, He immediately woke up and arranged for someone to carry Ma Chengxian to the rear hospital.Because the command post was blown up, the communication was completely interrupted, and the battle could not be commanded. I saw thick smoke billowing on the entire position, and it was impossible to distinguish the north from the south.Ma Shangwu flew on his horse and hurried to the front position.At this time, the enemy army was gradually exhausted, and he immediately sent a distress call to the 8th Cavalry Brigade behind him.Ma Ying, the commander of the 8th Cavalry Brigade, asked Ma Jiyuan to transfer them to the back because he was afraid of death. Now that the 14th Cavalry Brigade was under siege, he withdrew back in case it was too late. How could he have the courage to go forward to rescue them?

The ancients said, "Shoot people first, shoot horses." Now, Wang Zhen ordered to concentrate artillery fire on horses. Shells roared in from ten miles away. The horse bandits and cavalry who used to dominate the Northwest battlefield have long since It was a mess, rushing here and there, falling apart, soldiers couldn't find officials, and officials couldn't find soldiers. There were still personnel, but there was no organizational system.Seeing this situation, Ma Shangwu was really helpless. The communication was interrupted and the military order was not smooth. All the officers and soldiers, including the horse, were in a hurry to run for their lives.Ma Shangwu was really powerless to clean up the situation, so he flew on his horse, shouted "retreat" to the team, and at the same time got into the dense forest with his guards, and fled towards Pingliang.

It's better to be a guy with four legs, and he can run fast when he loses a battle.As soon as Guguan was lost, Ma Jiyuan's troops rushed all the way to Dingxi. When they looked back, the PLA was left far behind.For the Ma family army, the advantage of stationing in the northwest is here: the vast territory, the large room for strategic maneuvering, can rely on the vast land to make up for the defeat on the battlefield. Ma Jiyuan, who was in his early 30s, did not lose confidence after several consecutive defeats.He suddenly discovered that Dingxi was a good place to stop the People's Liberation Army.So he pointed to the mountains in front of him and said to Ma Buluan and Wang Zhiqi: "Look, the mountains are high here, the valleys are deep, and there are continuous ups and downs. If you fortify here, you can keep Lanzhou safe!" Ma Buluan kept nodding: "That's right. Peng Dehuai's avant-garde troops have just arrived in Gangu and Wushan areas. When the main force arrives in Dingxi, we have established a firm foothold and repaired the fortifications. Dingxi can be regarded as the gateway to Lanzhou. Baolanzhou must protect Dingxi!" " Ma Jiyuan felt that what Ma Buluan said was reasonable, so he agreed, and subconsciously glanced at Wang Zhiqi.Wang Zhiqi's 119th Army was originally affiliated to Hu Zongnan. After being severely injured in the Battle of Fumei, when he fled for his life, he mixed with Ma's army, and then arrived in Dingxi.Although Ma Jiyuan treats him well, he usually doesn't say much when it comes to major military affairs, and puts on a posture of obedience.Ma Jiyuan glanced at him this time, but he didn't respond. Ma Jiyuan was about to say something when he found Liu Ren hurriedly came.Entrusted by Ma Bufang, Liu Ren came here from Lanzhou.Ma Jiyuan hurried up to greet him, shook hands and greeted warmly.Liu Ren was not polite, and went straight to the point: "Let's hold a military meeting. The commander (Ma Bufang) appointed me to convey the military plan to retreat to Lanzhou..." "What? Retreat to Lanzhou, don't Dingxi?" Ma Jiyuan was very surprised.Ma Buluan, Wang Zhiqi and others also felt baffled, and asked the troops to withdraw to Lanzhou even though they did not defend Dingxi. Liu Ren patted Ma Jiyuan on the shoulder: "Yes, Dingxi is no longer needed. I will tell you the details at the meeting..." Ma Jiyuan, Ma Buluan, Wang Zhiqi, Zhao Sui (Deputy Commander of the 82nd Army), and Ma Wending (Chief of Staff of the 82nd Army) attended the meeting. In addition, a notice was sent to Lu Zhongliang from the Ningma side, but he did not attend the meeting. Liu Ren said: "The chief (referring to Ma Bufang) plans to stick to Lanzhou. Naturally, the reasons are much more sufficient than sticking to Dingxi. First, the defense is strong. Lanzhou is adjacent to the Yellow River in the north and has the steep Gaolan Mountain as a barrier in the south. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack; The transportation is convenient. Lanzhou is connected with Qinghai, Xinjiang, and Ningxia by highways, which is convenient for economic assistance. The third is that there are sufficient reserves of resources. Lanzhou is the economic center of the Northwest, and there are all kinds of war supplies. These three points are conducive to internal defense operations, compared with Dingxi's Conditions are much better..." Before Liu Ren finished speaking, Ma Jiyuan stood up. He did not agree with his father's battle plan of sticking to Lanzhou: "Lanzhou is the seat of the magistrate's office, and it is also the political, economic, and cultural center of the Northwest. Naturally, we can’t fight in Lanzhou, just like we can’t fight in Qinghai if we want to protect Qinghai. The area around Dingxi has high mountains and deep valleys, and the terrain is dangerous. It’s fighting the People’s Liberation Army..." Before he could finish speaking, Ye Chengrong, the Minister of Finance of Qinghai Province, hurried over from Lanzhou again.This hard-core confidant of Ma Bufang is often responsible for his secret mission, and always appears at the most critical time.Ma Jiyuan saw him?His head was sweating profusely, and he was still winking at him, knowing that he must have brought important instructions from his father.Ma Jiyuan hurried forward and asked in a low voice, "What's the matter?" Ye Chengrong looked very anxious and said, "Go, let's talk in the woods ahead." When the two came to stand in the woods, Ye Chengrong said in a low voice, "If this battle is fought in Dingxi, we will surely lead the charge, while Ma Hongkui will watch the fun by the side. When the time comes, our strength will be exhausted, and Ma Hongkui will be there." The right to speak. Therefore, Ma Hongkui must be brought in, and only when fighting in Lanzhou can the Guangzhou government order Ma Hongkui to send troops; and only when fighting in Lanzhou, Ma Hongkui will send troops..." Ye Chengrong lowered his voice and looked at Ma Jiyuan very strangely.Ma Jiyuan suddenly realized and nodded repeatedly.After a while, Ma Jiyuan said, "OK, I'll withdraw the troops to Lanzhou." Within a few days, Ma Jiyuan withdrew all his troops to Lanzhou for defense.Immediately afterwards, Ma Bufang, Ma Hongkui and Hu Zongnan boarded a plane to Guangzhou to attend the Northwest United Defense Conference hosted by Yan Xishan, determined to stick to Lanzhou. Yan Xishan lost Shanxi, and his heart has always been heavy.He presided over the meeting with the dream of going back to his hometown in Shanxi.His biggest wish now is that Hu Zongnan, Ma Bufang, Ma Hongkui, especially Ma Bufang and Ma Hongkui can unite to keep the Great Southwest, keep the Great Northwest, and then restore his territory in Shanxi.Therefore, he repeatedly emphasized at the meeting to put aside past suspicions and go to the national calamity together. In fact, what he said was mainly for Ma Hongkui.As early as May, when the Guangzhou Nationalist Government appointed Ma Bufang as acting chief of the Northwest Military and Political Chief Office, Ma Hongkui's dissatisfaction began.Although Ma Hongkui won the post of deputy chief and chairman of Gansu Province later, he couldn't swallow this breath after all.So in the next few battles, Ma Hongkui couldn't cooperate very well.Not only that, Ma Bufang painstakingly planned the Pingliang Battle, but Ma Hongkui secretly ordered Lu Zhongliang to withdraw his troops.Later, Ma Hongkui simply wavered, secretly sent Ma Rulong to Suiyuan, and confided to Fu Zuoyi his desire for peace.For Ma Hongkui, who is famous for his anti-communism, if he hadn't lost in the political competition within the Kuomintang, he would never have done so. In fact, on the issue of defending Lanzhou, Ma Bufang was wishful thinking.He thought that he could trap Ma Hongkui by planning the decisive battle in Lanzhou, but he didn't know that Ma Hongkui had already made plans to only protect Ningxia.Since Ma Bufang took over Lanzhou, Ma Hongkui has determined that Lanzhou is only Ma Bufang's territory, and he wants to send troops to protect Lanzhou, which is tantamount to escorting Ma Bufang.He wouldn't do such a stupid thing.And what about Hu Zongnan?He wished that the two horses would launch the Lanzhou Campaign.The bigger the battle, the better. It can attract the main force of the People's Liberation Army to the northwest, so that he can manage southern Shaanxi with peace of mind. So although he hated Ma Bufang's performance in the Battle of Fumei, he still tried his best to match him with Yan Xishan. Ma Hongkui's relationship.But Ma Hongkui did not board the boat of Yan Xishan and his group. After the meeting, he flew to Yinchuan by himself by plane. Regarding the subtle relationship between Ma Bufang, Ma Hongkui and Hu Zongnan, Mao Zedong can basically guess that it is almost inseparable.Therefore, he promptly put forward the policy of "using political methods in addition to combat methods" to solve the Northwest issue.When he talked about the Northwest issue with Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi and others, he always mentioned the vast territory of the Northwest, the complex ethnic issues, and the fact that the main generals of the Kuomintang army had different political orientations.At that time, although our army had the upper hand militarily, when encountering issues such as ethnicity and religion, we could not rely solely on the military to resolve them.Mao Zedong said: "Ethnic issues are no small matter, and religious issues are no small matter. Sometimes a small action by a soldier of the People's Liberation Army violates the taboo of an ethnic minority. If it is not handled properly, it will lead to a big political incident..." Mao Zedong said in The telegram emphasized to Peng Dehuai many times that our party’s ethnic minority cadres are seriously lacking, and we must pay attention to uniting all forces that can be united to accelerate the liberation process of the Northwest. Ma Jiyuan withdrew the troops from Dingxi, and Peng Dehuai led the troops forward.Within ten days, the vast land including Dingxi was completely liberated by our army.When Peng Dehuai heard that Ma Bufang was going to stick to Lanzhou, he clapped his hands happily: "I'm not afraid of him defending, but I'm worried about him running away. As long as he doesn't run away, they will die!" Peng Dehuai's self-confidence also infected Zhang Zongxun, but he was still a little puzzled: "Boss, how can you say that if they don't run away, they will die?" Peng Dehuai got serious, spread out the map, pointed to the Yellow River and said, "Look, Lanzhou is backed by the Yellow River. For us, the Yellow River is their natural danger; for them, the Yellow River is also our natural danger! As long as we If they can break into Lanzhou City in one fell swoop, and the Yellow River blocks their retreat, they will die!" Zhang Zongxun kept nodding his head, as if he had realized something, but he said worriedly: "Lanzhou is surrounded by mountains, especially Gaolan Mountain, which is the natural barrier of Lanzhou! The horse bandits will definitely make a big fuss on the mountain. They will definitely stick to those hills. Besides, if the horse bandits are forced to a dead end, they will definitely fight to the end. If they want to break through Gaolan Mountain, they will have to pay a heavy price!" "Yes! This is a vicious battle, and another group of cadres and soldiers in our army will shed blood and die. They will not see the founding of New China!" Peng Dehuai stood up, looked out the window with his hands behind his back, and said, "It's still what the chairman said. Well, fight and talk in parallel to minimize war losses.” "I heard that Tao Zhiyue from Xinjiang was a little shaken, and Ma Hongkui too?" Zhang Zongxun asked. "They are a little shaken, but whether they will revolt and surrender depends on how we behave on the battlefield. We fought smoothly. If we don't do work, Tao Zhiyue will lead an uprising. But the battle is not very good , Then it’s hard to say! Therefore, the battle of Lanzhou is very important. Winning Lanzhou can separate the two horses geographically and open up the channel to Xinjiang, and psychologically, it can generate enough shock to Tao Zhiyue and Ma Hongkui. " "Yes, to aid peace with war." Zhang Zongxun said, "Then you see, how will the troops be mobilized in the next step?" "First issue an order to attack Lanzhou in advance, saying that we are going to use a force to contain Ma Hongkui's troops, and concentrate our absolute superiority to annihilate the Lanzhou defenders first. The specific arrangement is as follows: the 18th Corps is still monitoring the southern part of Hu Zong and is ready to go south. ;The 1st, 2nd, and 19th Corps besieged Lanzhou from the left, the middle, and the right, and went straight to Xining. Tell them to prepare for a fierce battle. Through this battle, the Qingma problem will basically be solved..." Peng Dehuai and Zhang Zongxun were making plans to attack Ma Hongkui, while Ma Jiyuan was "constructing large-scale projects" on Gaolan Mountain. Ma Jiyuan left Dingxi for Lanzhou on August 10.That day, he and Ma Buluan, Tan Chengxiang, Han Youlu, Ma Zhenwu and other generals ran all over Gaolan Mountain, Doujia Mountain, Guchengling Mountain, Majia Mountain, Shili Mountain north of Xilan Highway, Shenjialing Mountain and Gouwa Mountain in the west. .Ma Jiyuan said as he walked: "In the past, we went to the territory of the 'communist bandits' when we fought. We were not familiar with the situation and human relations, so we lost the battle; now the 'communist bandits' have come to our territory, and they are alone. In-depth, without the support of the liberated areas, it is a great opportunity for us to turn around. The 'communist bandits' have nothing to fear, and they have made a solid defensive position. They can do anything about Lanzhou? No..." Ma Jiyuan spoke with confidence alone, but the group of people behind him were all murmuring.After the last Dingxi meeting, Wang Zhiqi said that sticking to Lanzhou will benefit the Communist Army and not oneself.At that time, they all saw it that way, the Yellow River was behind, and the communist army couldn't escape even if they came in and ran.But now it has become a conclusion to stick to Lanzhou. In any case, this battle with an uncertain future has to be fought. As early as during the Anti-Japanese War, a group of reinforced concrete blockhouses were built on Gaolan Mountain, the main position outside Lanzhou. There were bright blockhouses and dark blockhouses.He cut the slope of the mountain into a cliff of 5-10 meters, and dug a hidden side-firing machine gun bunker at the waist of the cliff, and dug a ten-deep trench outside the cliff. Inside the trench, there are bunkers and other field fortifications. There are underground ditches between the trenches, and several barbed wire fences are set up outside, and the mines are densely covered. Ma Jiyuan admired his proud work and confidently "waited" for Peng Dehuai's presence. After Peng Dehuai issued the preparatory order to attack Lanzhou last time, he gave another order to our army in the Northwest the next day: Take advantage of the victory to pursue and attack the lairs of the bandits—Lanzhou, Xining, Ningxia... All comrades, commanders and fighters of the entire army, and combat heroes , Model workers, the whole army is united, go forward bravely, and fight for the clean and complete elimination of the bandit troops in Qinghai, Gansu, and Ningxia provinces, and the liberation of the entire Northwest! This is a very appealing order, which brought the fighting mood of the entire Northwest Field Army to the highest point.At that time, when our troops arrived in the area ruled by Erma, food was very difficult, and the weather gradually turned cold. The entire Northwest Field Army fell into a situation of lack of food and clothing.However, inspired by the battle cry of "March into Gan, Qing, Ning, and liberate the Northwest", the soldiers did not take these difficulties to heart.When a group of soldiers set foot on the vast land in the northwest, their hearts were filled with infinite power.The troops began to advance on the 9th. The main force of the 1st, 2nd, and 19th Corps and 150,000 former migrant workers from the old and new liberated areas marched in three directions in the mountains, and the sword pointed directly at Lanzhou.By the 19th, the 2nd Corps and the 19th Corps had joined forces in the suburbs of Lanzhou, and began all combat preparations to attack Lanzhou. Ma Jiyuan entrusted the 82nd Army of his direct line with the task of fighting inside, and asked them to be responsible for the defense of Shili Mountain, Doujia Mountain, Majia Mountain, Gucheng Mountain, Dading Mountain, Gaolan Mountain, Yingpan Mountain, Shenjia Mountain, and Gouwa Mountain. , the two infantry divisions of the 129th Army were the reserve team, and the 91st Army's Huang Zuzhen Division and the 120th Army's Zhou Jiabin Division cooperated with Ma Hongbin's 81st Army to defend the river defense from Lanzhou Yanchangbao to Jingyuan, waiting for an opportunity to cut off the traffic on the Xilan Highway.By the 20th, when the 2nd Corps and the 19th Corps of the People's Liberation Army met in the suburbs of Lanzhou, Ma Jiyuan had already made all preparations. Peng Dehuai and Ye Si went to the outskirts of Lanzhou with the troops.In addition to paying attention to Ma Jiyuan's movements these days, he has also been observing the activities of Hu Zongnan and Ma Hongkui.After a few days of observation, he explained a basic point of view to Zhang Zongxun and Yan Kuiyao.He said: "Our 2nd and 19th corps are approaching the city. Ma Jiyuan is already in a hurry, but Hu Zongnan and Ma Hongkui have not responded at all. It seems that the Northwest Defense Conference has no effect. It is unlikely that Hu Zongnan and Ma Hongkui will come to rescue Ma Bufang. .” Zhang Zongxun is also thinking about whether Hu Zongnan and Ma Hongkui will help Ma Jiyuan these days. He said a few days ago that if they come to help, it will inevitably increase the difficulty of this battle.But if they don't come to help, Ma Jiyuan's determination to defend Lanzhou alone is questionable.So he said: "If they don't come to help, what will Ma Jiyuan do if he goes to Xining like his father?" "So launch an attack immediately and kill him by surprise." Peng Dehuai said firmly. In the early morning of the 21st, the field army launched an attack on Lanzhou. Xu Guangda and Yang Dezhi suddenly launched violent shelling on the strongholds outside Lanzhou from the south, west, and north at the same time.Especially on Gaolan Mountain, the main position, the fighting was more intense.Peng Dehuai's determination is to seize several strongholds on the outskirts of Lanzhou through surprise attacks, laying a foundation for the next more violent attack.The commanders and fighters felt that it would be no problem to take down a few strongholds.As soon as the artillery fire was fired, they only focused on firing shells on the position, but did not conduct detailed reconnaissance and understanding of the Ma's army's defensive positions.Therefore, the shells were fired one after another, but the effect was not very satisfactory. At first, all the Ma's troops hid in the bunkers of the trenches. When our People's Liberation Army's waves of shelling ended and launched a forced attack, the enemy troops all crawled out of the hole and launched a counterattack against the People's Liberation Army that had just rushed up based on the favorable terrain.The battle was fought until dawn, and the position was still in the hands of the enemy. Peng Dehuai stomped his feet anxiously in the field office: "Yang Dezhi has 5 regiments, Xu Guangda has 4 regiments, and they fought all night without even taking down a small stronghold. What happened!" He turned around and said to Zhang Zongxun, "First Withdraw your troops!" Peng Dehuai called Xu Guangda and Yang Dezhi over, and asked, "What happened, tell me!" Xu Guangda cleared his throat and blamed himself: "The main reason is to underestimate the enemy. I didn't expect the horse bandits to resist so tenaciously. In addition, we don't know enough about the fortifications outside Lanzhou City." "What about you?" Peng Dehuai turned to ask Yang Dezhi. "It's also underestimating the enemy, and I didn't find out the situation clearly beforehand." Yang Dezhi said. "Both of you are only half right, and half are not. The other half is that the fortifications of the horse bandits are too strong!" Peng Dehuai said, "To sum up, the subjective reasons are of course the main ones, but the objective reasons cannot be ignored. If the objective reasons are not clear, we will still suffer losses at that time. In my opinion, Ma Jiyuan’s defense cannot be underestimated! From this battle, we can see that Ma Jiyuan is not as weak as we imagined. He has made plans to defend Lanzhou to the death .” Ma Jiyuan's determination was confirmed by Peng Dehuai. On the 22nd, he specially ran to the Gaolan Mountain position to hold a front-line meeting, and brought up the record of the day before yesterday, which greatly boosted morale: "As I said, as long as we defend well and work together, Peng Dehuai will take us There is no way around it. After this battle, we have basically found out the details of Peng Dehuai. As long as the brothers fight hard, Lanzhou will become the second Yulin, and Peng Dehuai will be unable to defeat him..." I don't know who said "Yulin has surrendered now".Ma Jiyuan's face suddenly darkened, and he patted the table and shouted: "I'm not Deng Baoshan! Are there any of you in the Zuo Xiezhong (Commander of the 22nd Army of the Kuomintang Yulin Defense Army, leader of the uprising)? Do you have Zhang Zhiyin (Chief of Staff of the 22nd Army, uprising leader)?" Ma Jiyuan scanned the audience majestically, and all the generals present bowed their heads and remained silent.The results will be unhappy. The scouts sent by Peng Dehuai had already figured out Ma Jiyuan's fortifications, deployment, and determination. If nothing unexpected happened, it was absolutely certain that Ma Jiyuan would be wiped out in Lanzhou.However, if we blindly attack by force, it is not certain that Ma Jiyuan will abandon the city and flee. Mao Zedong emphasized this point in every call.If he is allowed to run back to Xining, or escape to Xinjiang, it will cause endless harm!Peng Dehuai analyzed the current situation and felt that only by "fighting before and blocking after" can it be possible to wipe out Ma Jiyuan in Lanzhou.He gave Wang Zhen's 1st Corps a difficult task: immediately cross the Yellow River, detour to the rear of Lanzhou, cut off the road from Lanzhou to Qinghai and Xinjiang, and cooperate with the 2nd and 19th Corps to launch an attack. The time to attack again was chosen at dawn on the 25th. On the evening of the 24th, all the troops in the army cooked a meal of wheat and potatoes. There is no limit, and they can be eaten freely.The soldiers all had enough to eat, and they all knew that the next day's attack would be a fierce battle. Perhaps, they would fall down in this fierce battle, and they would not see the liberation of Lanzhou, let alone New China was established.But they showed no fear at all. They silently wrote their names, places of origin and home addresses on their clothes, and polished their guns to make them ready to sacrifice. Time passed by, but none of the soldiers fell asleep.At 7 o'clock in the morning, three signal bombs were sent out "swish", and the red light pierced the sky, reflecting the entire blue sky red. Immediately, three corps in one field launched a full-scale attack on Lanzhou.The cannon was erected in an open area 5 kilometers away. With a loud noise, the howling shells fell heavily on the position held by the Ma family army. The once peaceful hill suddenly turned into a sea of ​​flames. The main position to defend Lanzhou is Shenjialing, which is the south gate of Lanzhou. It is in the shape of a gourd and is known as the "Lanzhou Key".Taking Shenjialing will not only open up the passage into Lanzhou, but also go straight to Lanzhou Xiguan, controlling the only escape route for the enemy to escape westward-the Yellow River Iron Bridge. "Shenjialing must be taken, and this task is handed over to the 31st Regiment of the 11th Division of the 4th Army of the 2nd Corps who made great achievements in the Battle of Fumei!" Peng Dehuai gave the order very simply. As soon as the battle started, the head of the regiment, Wang Xueli, took the lead and commanded the blasting team to blow up a big gap in Shenjialing, and then commanded the 2nd Battalion to take the lead in the attack under the cover of artillery fire.The soldiers braved the hail of bullets and shouted with their rifles in hand?He rushed towards the enemy's position.In an instant, the shouts shook the sky, and the Megatron Quartet. Defending Shenjialing was the 190th Division of the 82nd Army of Ma Jiyuan's direct line.After playing against the People's Liberation Army for the first time on the 21st, they somewhat developed some pride.But they didn't expect the PLA to attack this time, the scene was completely different, not only rushed according to its main position, but also blasted a gap in the position in one fell swoop. Seeing the fierce offensive launched by our army, Li Shaobai, the chief of staff of the 190th Division, kept shouting: "It's over, it's over!" He hurried to Ma Jiyuan for help.But Ma Jiyuan was also battered.At that time, the battle had spread from the south, west, and north of Lanzhou. The People's Liberation Army not only had fierce firepower and strong troops, but also fought very accurately.Many painstakingly built bunkers and firepower points were uprooted by the artillery fire of the People's Liberation Army.Ma Jiyuan first?His confidence has long been lost, and now, he hates Ma Hongkui the most.As early as the 23rd, Ma Bufang sent Ma Jiyu, the secretary-general of the Chief Executive's Office, to drive to Ningxia overnight to ask Ma Hongkui for reinforcements.Ma Hongkui vowed at the time: "Combine to survive, separate to perish, I will definitely send troops!" But two days later, there is still no movement of Ma Hongkui.Ma Hongkui's reinforcements were hopeless, so he had to save himself.Ma Jiyuan quickly drew some elite soldiers from the 100th Division that was firmly guarding Donggang Town to reinforce Shenjialing and the nearby Gouwa Mountain. He issued a death order and must defend Shenjialing! However, the arrival of reinforcements could not reverse Shenjialing's defeat at all. Our army commander Wang Xueli commanded the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Echelon to launch an attack first, and then ordered the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Echelon to follow up quickly.When the soldiers rushed to the position, they fought hand-to-hand with the defending enemy. With bayonets in their hands, they fought blood and blood with the enemy on the position.When the enemy was gradually unable to support, Wang Xueli swung his sword, and the 3rd Battalion entered the battle as a reserve team.At 6 p.m., our 31st regiment captured Shenjialing, but the casualties were very heavy. There were only more than 300 people left in the regiment. The regiment leader Wang Xueli and political commissar Li Xigui died heroically. The battle on Yingpanling, the main peak of Gaolan Mountain, was also fierce. The defending enemy desperately resisted with the help of reinforced concrete fortifications.In the end, Cao Derong, the instructor of the 7th Company of the 46th Regiment, picked up a pile of explosives and rushed to the bottom of the cliff while taking advantage of the smoke from the grenade explosion. Explosive packs died together with the enemy bunker. A loud noise blew up the bunker, and the officers and soldiers of our army, following the example of heroes, jumped out of the trenches and rushed to Gaolan Mountain in one breath, fighting with the enemy until 5 pm, and finally captured Gaolan Mountain hand. Several main positions of the enemy army have been broken through, and Wang Zhen's 1st Corps is also advancing rapidly towards the west of Lanzhou.Ma Jiyuan looked flustered, and wanted to call Ma Bufang in Xining through the radio. After the father and son talked in dialect for a while, Ma Jiyuan put down the phone and ordered the troops to retreat across the board. The next day, Peng Dehuai, Zhang Zongxun, and Gan Siqi led the troops into Lanzhou City. Wang Zhen led the 1st Corps to advance towards Xining.Ma Bufang was like an ant on a hot pot. He had no time to think about how his carefully planned Lanzhou campaign was completely defeated within a few days. On the 27th, he fled Xining with his family in a hurry.Ma Jiyuan was still in shock. When he fled to Xining, his father had already left.The "Prince Qingma" was not a fuel-efficient lamp either. He ransacked the box and found 28 boxes of gold totaling 19,600 taels. He also fled to Chongqing on the 30th.Senior generals such as Ma Buluan and Ma Quanyi also fled together. On September 5, the 1st Army of the 1st Corps of our army liberated Xining. Liu Ren, deputy director of the Northwest Military and Political Chief Office, incorporated the rest of the "Qingma" and confidently led the troops back all the way west.He thought that the People's Liberation Army was going south to Sichuan and had no time to deal with him, a remnant and defeated general. He planned to use the snow-covered Qilian Mountains as a barrier to fight to the end.However, Mao Zedong, who was far away in Beijing, issued an instruction that "it is advisable to pursue the poor with the remaining bravery". A field force quickly dispatched the 1st Corps, 2nd Corps and 2nd Corps to chase the fleeing enemy urgently. After crossing the Tengger Desert, Wuwei and Zhangye were taken directly, and Jiuquan was finally liberated.So far, the "Tsing Ma Group" has come to an end.