Chapter 10 Chapter 10 Tang Yao, Cao Tiange and other recalcitrants were finally captured

After the success of the Kunming Uprising, Tang Yao, the deputy commander-in-chief of the Kuomintang Army, led the remnants to continue to resist in Yunnan. In September 1949, when Tang Yao fled from Qujiang and Guangzhou to Liuzhou as the chief of staff of the army general headquarters, Gu Zhutong, the chief of staff of the Kuomintang army and commander in chief of the army, called Tang to Guangzhou and told him Say: "According to the order of the President (referring to Chiang Kai-shek), Li Zongren's order to appoint Xiao Yisu and Guan Linzheng to act as the Chief of Staff and Commander-in-Chief of the Army respectively can be ignored. The position of Chief of Staff will still be held by myself, and the affairs of the Army General Headquarters will be dismantled by you. Act on your behalf." Gu Zhutong also said: "The Army General Command should narrow the scope as much as possible and prepare to go to Sichuan."

After Tang Yao accepted the instructions, although he knew that the Kuomintang was at the end of the road, he was still very active due to the promotion. He immediately rushed back to Liuzhou and decided to transport all the personnel of the Army Headquarters and all the accompanying family members to Jincheng River by the Guizhou-Guizhou Railway. The vehicles of the Yiqi Corps were transported to Sichuan. In October, Tang Yao led the necessary personnel to fly to Chongqing first, when Chiang Kai-shek and Gu Zhutong had already arrived.Gu Zhutong heard Tang Yao's report that the leading vehicles of the Army Headquarters Air Force Corps had arrived in Guiyang, and hurriedly instructed Tang Yao to change to Yunnan, and explained to Tang:

"If all agencies open to Sichuan, it will be crowded. In the past, because of Lu Han's ambiguous attitude, the central government had some concerns. Now that Lu Han has expressed his loyalty to the president, the president thinks it is credible, so it is much safer for you to go to Yunnan. .” Tang Yao just didn't want to be restrained by Gu in Sichuan, and wanted to be alone, so he immediately ordered the vehicles of the Suqi Corps to change to Qujing by phone, and then transferred to Kunming by railway, while flying directly to Kunming by himself to contact the residence of the officers, soldiers and their families.

At this time, the strength and configuration of the Kuomintang army in Yunnan were as follows: The 6th Training Headquarters, Commander Li Mi, Deputy Commanders Yu Chengwan, Cao Tiange, Boke Army, stationed in Kunming. The 8th Army, concurrently commander Li Mi, deputy commander Liu Yuanlin, stationed in Zhanyi, under the jurisdiction of the 3rd Division (division commander Tian Zhongda), 42nd Division (division commander Shi Jianzhong), 170th Division (division commander Sun Jinxian), 237th Division Division (teacher Li Binfu), tutor (teacher Li Jinggan, not approved by the Ministry of National Defense at that time).The above divisions are stationed on the Sichuan-Yunnan Highway from Luzhou, Sichuan to Zhanyi, Yunnan, and are gradually marching towards eastern Yunnan. (The actual number of the 8th Army is no more than 20,000).

The 26th Army, Commander Yu Chengwan, Deputy Commander Peng Zuoxi, stationed in Mengzi, under the jurisdiction of the 93rd Division (Division Commander Ye Zhinan), 161st Division, 193rd Division (Division Commander Shi Butian), Supplementary Division (Division Commander Luo Yuxu).The above divisions were stationed in Kaiyuan, Mengzi, Jianshui, and Shiping in southern Yunnan, and the 193rd Division was stationed in Sancha near Qujing in eastern Yunnan. The Army General Command has jurisdiction over the Guard Regiment, Artillery Training Battalion, Engineer Training Battalion, Artillery School, the 18th Gendarmerie Regiment, the 23rd Gendarmerie Regiment, and the 370th Division (composed of scattered soldiers from all walks of life).

As soon as Tang Yao arrived in Kunming, he went to see Lu Han, but Lu Tuo disappeared due to illness.Tang had no choice but to go to see Ma Yingying, the deputy director of Lu's appeasement office, and Xie Chongwen, the chief of staff (both Ma and Xie were Tang Yao's classmates at the same time in the Army University). .Ma Yingying said: "Bandits are everywhere in Yunnan. If you stay here, you won't be able to work safely. Kunming is too crowded, and you really can't afford a house. As for the situation in other counties, Xie Chongwen is more familiar with it than I am. You can discuss it with him."

Seeing Xie Chongwen, he said, "I don't dare to make the decision. I'd better invite you to negotiate with Deputy Director Ma." This is obviously mutual evasion, dealing with Tang Yao, Tang Yao has no choice but to go to Qujing first to see the situation of the officers, soldiers and their families who have arrived at the Army Headquarters. The Army Headquarters has a huge organization, with more than a thousand officials and assistants, and this time a large number of family members dragged along the old and the young. After arriving in Qujing, not only the living quarters were overcrowded, but even the food allotment could not be received.Even the lieutenant general and deputy director, everyone auctioned off their personal clothes on the street to maintain three meals a day.The guard group took the grain requisition certificate issued by the county government and went to the countryside separately to search for grain.The military band actually went to the theater to play and sell tickets to survive.The 4th district station of the huge radio team had to act on behalf of commercial e-commerce and charge a living.

All kinds of embarrassment are really indescribable. When Li Mi heard that Tang Yao had arrived in Qujing, he came from Zhanyi to meet him.Li said to Tang: "Lu Han's attitude is ambiguous. It's not that he doesn't want to give you a place to stay, but he is afraid that you will get in the way." Then he suggested to Tang: "It is best for the Army Headquarters to retreat across the Nu River and station in my hometown Tengchong. With the 8th and 26th Armies as the foundation, plus professional personnel from various arms of the Army Headquarters, we can expand our influence and retreat You can also stick to self-defense. Now I have assembled the family members of the 8th Army at Dabanqiao near Kunming, waiting for the car to be transported to Tengchong. I hope you will do the same. But Yu Chengwan of the 26th Army can’t get along with me, so I have to ask you to go Unblock unblock."

At the beginning of November, Tang Yao went to Kunming again and said to Ma Yingying, "Please tell me something, are you rejecting the army headquarters stationed in Yunnan?" Ma Yingying could no longer evade the excuse, and said: "Chairman Lu does not welcome you to Kunming, so you can temporarily live in Yuanmou County. But when you are moving, don't pass through Kunming City. It is best to start the drought from Chenggong and cross Kunming." Tang Yao asked puzzledly, "Why do you treat guests like this?" Out of respect for her classmates, Ma Yingying said:

"You will always know in the future. I mean it well." (Tang Yao later realized that the preparations for the Lu Han uprising had reached a mature stage, so Ma Yingying did not want the Army Headquarters to enter Kunming for both public and private purposes.) Tang Yao immediately flew back to Chongqing and reported the contact process to Gu Zhutong.At that time, Gu Zhutong only thought that Lu Han didn't want to have a big agency over his head, and he didn't expect that Lu Han would carry out an uprising. When Tang Yao flew back to Chongqing for the last time, the vanguard of the People's Liberation Army led by General Liu Bocheng had already arrived in Qijiang. In late November, Tang Yao fled to Chengdu with Gu Zhutong.Since there was no plane at that time, it was postponed until December 7th to fly to Kunming with Zhang Qun with the funds of the Army Headquarters, preparing to close the Army Headquarters.

Zhang Qun's flight to Kunming this time was to convey Chiang Kai-shek's intention to ask Li Mi, Yu Chengwan, Long Zehui and others to attend training in Chengdu.After the plane arrived in Kunming, Lu Han, Ma Yingying, Li Mi, Yu Chengwan, Long Zehui and others greeted Zhang Qun at the airport.Ma Yingying sent Tang Yao to the temporary guest house (Xunjin New Village), and as soon as he entered the door, before he sat down, he said to Tang Yao: "This house is very good, but the people who live there are unlucky and are often locked up. " Tang Yao is a smart man, and he knew the reason for what he said as soon as he heard it.Following the visit of Bai Tianmin, deputy commander of Yunnan Security, he said that Lu Han had a different plan.Tang Yao was so worried that he didn't close his eyes all night.At dawn the next day, Tang pretended to go out to have breakfast, slipped to the dim sum shop at the train station, and waited for the time to drive until 8:00, when the first train bound for Qujing had started to let off steam, Tang Yao dropped his chopsticks. He jumped into the carriage without taking his luggage, wallet, and dentures that he took off before going to bed. After Tang Yao returned to Qujing, he repeatedly urged Tao Jianzhi, the Director of General Affairs of the Army Headquarters who stayed in Kunming, to quickly transport the public and private luggage of the Army Headquarters in Kunming back to Qujing, but it was too late.On the morning of the third day (December 10), Tang Yao learned that Lu Han had sent a telegram on the 9th, announcing the uprising. Tang Yao not only urgently called the Ministry of National Defense to ask for instructions and took some necessary measures, but also sent Colonel Shu Rongguang to Zhanyi to secretly contact the 8th Army and observe Li Mi's movements (it was not known at the time that Li Mi had been detained. ); Tan Xuezheng, deputy director of the general office, was sent to Sancha to contact the 193rd Division of the 26th Army and inquire about the situation of the army and Yu Chengwan. In fact, at this time Li Mi, Yu Chengwan and others were already detained by Lu Han.Li Mi was always cunning and alert. He had agreed with Yang Yeke, the chief of staff of his army, that if he sent a telegram using some kind of secret code, it would mean that he had lost his freedom and was forced to send it. On the morning of December 10th, after being detained, Li Mi sent a telegram ordering the divisions to "stand by on the spot and wait for adaptation", using exactly this kind of code.Based on this, Yang also concluded that Li Mi had been detained, so he immediately sent a car to Sanshilipu near Xuanwei, and then Cao Tiange, the deputy commander of the 6th Training Command, rushed back to the Zhanyi Army Headquarters to take charge of everything. At this time, Gu Zhutong sent Tang Yao an emergency telegram, which read: (1) In the past, all the liaison between the Ministry of National Defense and various units and agencies in Yunnan, which were transferred by Lu Han, will be transferred by the Army Headquarters. (2) Tang Yao was officially announced as the deputy commander-in-chief and chief of staff of the army, supervising military and political affairs in Yunnan. (3) Cao Tiange was ordered to be the commander of the 8th Army, and Peng Zuoxi was promoted to the commander of the 26th Army. (4) The 8th Army, the 26th Army, and the 89th Army were combined into the 19th Corps, with Wang Boxun as the commander and Cao Tiange as the deputy commander, responsible for commanding the frontline military, "crusade" Lu Han, and rescue Li Mi , Yu Chengwan, etc. On December 12, Tang Yao went to Zhanyi to meet with Cao Tiange. He sent a telegram to Ma Yingying through the Qujing County government radio station in advance, pretending to express his willingness to participate in the uprising, and at the same time urged the Kunming authorities to immediately hijack the 8th Street of Dabanqiao near Kunming by force. The family members of the army plotted to use this method to anger the officers and soldiers of the Eighth Army and provoke the army to fight against the Luhan uprising troops. Before describing how Tang Yao and Cao Tiange jointly planned to attack Kunming, let me explain here how Cao Tiange joined the Li Mi Group. In the winter of 1948, the Kuomintang troops were on the verge of complete disintegration. In order to continue to struggle in vain, the Ministry of National Defense signed the designations of six armies from the first office and proposed six candidates for army commanders, including Liu Bolong of the 89th Army, Xu Zhi of the Ninth Army, Cao Tiange and other 6 members of the 12th Army should be published with the approval of Chiang Kai-shek himself. Cao Tiange was negotiating funding and preparing to start recruiting troops. He suddenly received a phone call from Lin Wei, the deputy chief of staff of the Ministry of National Defense, saying that Shu Rong, the former commander of the 12th Army, had fled back from the Huaihai area alone. Disbanded officers and soldiers, can you still return the original designation to Shu Rong, and give Cao another military designation? Cao Tiange immediately accepted this opinion.But at that time, it was precisely in the chaotic situation that important officials in Nanjing were fleeing for their lives, there was no more follow-up. Cao Tiange went to Fenghua Xikou to meet Chiang Kai-shek in early March 1949 and asked for instructions on future tasks.At that time, Chiang Kai-shek thought Li Mi was very scheming, and after he escaped from the Huaihai battlefield, he planned to resettle his family members to Hong Kong. At this time, in the offices, dormitories and even their homes of Chiang Kai-shek's attendants in Xikou, everyone was busy bundling boxes and cages. It was chaotic and precarious.Those who came to Xikou to meet Chiang Kai-shek that day were Chen Cheng, Zhu Shaoliang, Huang Jie, etc. When Cao was having lunch with them, all of them looked gloomy and preoccupied. . At that time, the remaining officers and soldiers of the 8th Army were being transported to Yingtan, Jiangxi Province under the leadership of Deputy Army Commander Liu Yuanlin, and they were about to leave Hengyang.The three divisions of the army, together with the 13th training headquarters and the miscellaneous troops directly under the army, actually had less than 5,000 people (at this time, Tian Zhongda's department of the 3rd division had not yet been included in the sequence), and there were more officers than soldiers. There are more family members in the army than officials.In addition, a large number of family members of landlords, local tyrants, and evil gentry who came from Shandong and fled with the army were really dragging the old and the young, and they hardly looked like an army. Li Mi tried to drag the troops back to his hometown in Tengchong, Yunnan, but he was worried that doing so would arouse Lu Han's suspicion, so he first flew from Shanghai to Kunming to communicate with Lu Han and the Yunnan Provincial Council.After Li Mi arrived in Kunming, the Kuomintang Central Committee ordered Li Mi to take over He Shaozhou's 8th Training Command in Kunming and cancel the designation of the 13th Training Command.Li Mi urged Cao Tiange to fly to Kunming immediately to preside over the affairs of the 8th Rehearsal Headquarters. After Cao Tiange flew to Guangzhou, when he was planning to transfer to Kunming, unexpectedly, Li Mi had already left Kunming and arrived in Guangzhou.It is said that this running, the effect is not great.So at the end of April, Cao Tiange was sent to Taiwan to ask for instructions, and by the way, he asked for some additional weapons and equipment.In addition to giving priority to receiving some US-made weapons and necessary equipment supplements in Taiwan, Cao also received instructions regarding the future operations of the Eighth Army, and decided to temporarily leave Zhijiang, Hunan Province to concentrate on standby. During Cao Tiange's stay in Taiwan, Chiang Kai-shek once held a military meeting of senior generals presided over by him.At that time, everyone believed that Chiang Kai-shek must have major instructions and new measures.Unexpectedly, after listening to the end, not only did the medicine not change, but even the soup was not changed. There is still a set of clichés such as "downsizing the troops", "seeking quality instead of quantity", and "trying to go back to the mainland". .After the meeting was over, everyone was speechless and left with wry smiles.Some said frankly: "One day, one day, let's talk about it when we jump into the sea!" In July, the 8th Army was ordered to march from Zhijiang to Fuling to assemble and prepare to march to Yunnan on standby. In September, they were ordered to stop driving to Yunnan, and instead transported by ship to Yibin to assemble and stand by.And when the 42nd Division of the vanguard was transported to Yibin by ship, it was sent back to Luzhou by telegram, and then moved to Yunnan along the Sichuan-Yunnan Highway.This new decision was probably made after Lu Han was summoned to Chongqing to meet Chiang Kai-shek.This fully explained Chiang Kai-shek's confusion in military deployment at that time. In late October, Li Mi personally led the 8th Army (belonging to the 42nd Division) to advance to Yunnan, leaving Cao Tiange to command the units under the former 13th Training Headquarters and the 42nd Division's Shi Jianzhong to recruit troops in Luzhou to expand its strength. In mid-November, as the vanguard of the People's Liberation Army was approaching the Sichuan-Guizhou border, Cao Tiange feared that the Sichuan-Yunnan Highway would be cut off. When reaching the Guizhou-Yunnan border, the traffic on the Sichuan-Yunnan Highway was controlled by the People's Liberation Army, and all the more than 8,000 recruits who followed were unable to pass. On the way Cao Tiange led his troops from Guizhou to Yunnan, he was attacked by local people's armed forces along the way. It can be said that he was "difficult to move an inch". Moved to Sansilipu between Xuanwei and Zhanyi. On the evening of December 10, Yang Yeke, the chief of staff of Zhanyi's 8th Army, suddenly received an urgent telegram from Li Mi to "stand by on the spot for reorganization".Cao Tiange also believed that Li Mi, Yu Chengwan and others must have lost their freedom, and that the telegram was sent under forced circumstances, so he immediately notified Shi Jianzhong and Tian Zhongda, the commanders of the 42nd Division and the 3rd Division, to discuss countermeasures and decided to go to the Zhanyi Army first Buxiang Yang can also learn more about the situation before making calculations.Cao immediately drove to Zhanyi with the necessary personnel at dawn the next day. After Tang Yao escaped from Kunming, he learned that Cao Tiange had returned to the Zhanyi Army Headquarters, so he brought the central government's documents and telegrams about the incident to meet with the merchants, and secretly probed Cao's intentions (this was what Tang Yao told Cao Tiange afterwards) .Cao Tiange stated that he would resolutely attack Kunming, rescue Li Mi and Yu Chengwan, and asked Tang to move to the Zhanyi Army Headquarters to discuss future actions.Tang Yao returned to Qujing, and moved to Zhanyi with necessary personnel and a big radio station. As soon as Cao Tiange arrived at the Zhanyi Army Headquarters, he first telegraphed the 42nd Division and the 3rd Division stationed in Shilipu to gather in Zhanyi at starry night.At this time, the Yunnan Provincial Security Corps attacked Dabanqiao and was repelled by the defending forces.Cao Tiange never thought that this was originally a conspiracy by Tang Ge. Facing Lu Han's uprising, Chiang Kai-shek panicked.At this time, he thought of Cao Tiange, and immediately wrote a letter in his own handwriting and airdropped it to Cao Tiange by plane. The original letter is as follows: Lessons from Tiange: Lu Han betrayed the country and surrendered to the bandits. Zhang Zhang, Commander Li, and Commander Yu judged that he had lost his freedom.Zhuodi occupied Zhanyi, Luliang, and Wugong airports, and guarded Yiliang and Kunming railway stations. After the command post and the 13th and 15th military police regiments occupied Kunming, they moved in unison and assembled in the direction of Kaiyuan to wait for orders. This order. Chiang Kai-shek December 11, 1949 It is a pity that Cao Tiange did not receive this letter, but was confiscated by my guerrilla brigade. On December 13, the Ministry of National Defense ordered Tang Yao to be the deputy commander of the 19th Corps.Because Wang Boxun, the commander of the corps, had rumors of an uprising at that time, Cao Tiange, the deputy commander, was the commander of the 8th Army, and the 26th Army was reluctant to accept the command of Cao Tiange because of suspicions with the 8th Army, so the Ministry of National Defense added a deputy commander . When Tang Yao became an official of the Kuomintang, he had to work for the Kuomintang, so he decided to risk his life to take back Kunming, and summoned Cao Tiange, Chief of Staff of the 19th Corps Ran Xiaozhai, Chief of Staff of the 8th Army Yang Yeke, and the 8th Army had already arrived in Zhan Xiaozhai. The commanders of Yi's divisions (the 26th Army did not send personnel to participate), after days of discussions, decided to attack Kunming as follows: Policy: In order to enter and exit the Nu River and the Lancang River and facilitate subsequent operations, Kunming should be captured in one fell swoop, and Lu Han's troops should be wiped out in the area near the east of Dianchi Lake, and then control western Yunnan and southern Yunnan and hold them firmly. Corps deployment: (1) The 170th Division of the 8th Army should immediately occupy Dabanqiao and the area south of it, cover the concentration of the 8th Army and the 26th Army in Yanglin and Yiliang respectively, and immediately destroy the Kunming Power Plant in Yanglin, Cut off the lighting power supply in Kunming to facilitate street fighting. (2) The 8th Army (belonging to the 3rd Division) concentrated in Yanglin, and then deployed on the highlands north of Kunming, and must encircle Kunming Beixiao and the area west of it. (3) The 26th Army (belonging to the 193rd Division) was the main offensive force. In addition to blocking Biji Pass to prevent Lu Han from escaping to the west of Yunnan, the main force was concentrated near Yiliang on the same day, and then deployed in the east of Kunming to capture Kunming in one fell swoop. . (4) The area where the two armies fought was the line from the northern end of Machang Lake near Luliang to the north gate of Kunming to Bijiguan, and the line belonged to the 26th Army. (5) The line of entry and exit is the line from enriching the people to tranquility. After capturing Kunming, only one division of the 26th Army is allowed to enter the city to maintain order. (6) The 193rd Division of the 26th Army was temporarily placed under the command of the 8th Army, and then placed in the nearby area as the general reserve. (7) The 3rd Division of the 8th Army is responsible for defending Zhanyi and Qujing, and ensuring the safety of Zhanyi Airport. It was decided to attack at dawn on December 16.All troops should arrive at the designated area before the 15th to concentrate and complete the deployment.Attention should be paid to air contact during the attack. The Hainan Island Air Force bomber team, which assisted in the attack on Kunming, should bomb the Wuhuashan provincial government in turn and assist our artillery operations from the beginning of the general attack on the 16th. The forward command post of the Army Headquarters and its guard regiment and communications team are under the command of the 8th Army.After the attack began, the forward command post was located at Dabanqiao. Tang Yao and Cao Tiange left the 8th Army headquarters in Zhanyi, and Yang Yeke, chief of staff of the army, was in charge of the rear affairs. He took the forward command post and arrived at the horse crossing station on December 14.The situation at this time is: After receiving a telegram from the Ministry of National Defense, the Air Force will be sent to assist in the battle, and after the capture of Kunming, a bonus of 100,000 yuan will be issued. (There is no approval for Tang Yao and Cao Tiange's suggestion that "after the capture of Kunming, there should be a well-founded plan for advancing and retreating for a protracted war, and crossing the Nu River westward when necessary".) Gu Zhutong ordered Tang Yao to return to Zhanyi without going to the front to command, and to effectively control the Zhanyi airport and prepare for the security of Gu Zhutong's arrival in Zhanyi. Peng Zuoxi, the commander of the 26th Army, reported that the troops were too scattered and the roads were rough, so they could not be concentrated before the 16th, and requested to start the attack as late as the 18th.When Peng Zuoxi replied by telegram, he approved it. After Tang Yao received the telegram from the Ministry of National Defense, he did not dare to be negligent, and immediately crossed the river with the troops directly under the Army Headquarters to return to Zhanyi, ready to meet Gu Zhutong. On December 15, Li Jing, the new instructor of the 8th Dabanqiao Army, repelled the attack of Longzehui, followed and chased to the outskirts of Kunming, and occupied part of the highlands in the northeast of Kunming.In order to instigate Li Mi, Lu Han asked Li's wife to go to Dabanqiao to persuade Li Jinggan to stop attacking.Unexpectedly, as soon as Li's wife arrived at Dabanqiao, she said to the commanders of the troops: "Fight harder! The harder you fight, the faster Bingren (referring to Li Mi) will come out; if you don't fight, Bingren won't be able to come out. Now the city of Kunming is empty and frightened, it's a great opportunity for you to attack, can not miss." Therefore, at the instigation of Li's wife, the commanders of the various troops present expressed that they would never stop attacking.Li's wife wrote the original words of their determination on the lining of her cheongsam, and then returned to the city, secretly showing the lining of the cheongsam to Li Mi, and said to Lu Han: "The commanders of the various troops refused to listen to the advice of a woman like me. They said that there are strict orders from the superiors and senior officials to supervise the battle. Who would dare to disobey? Now the situation is very urgent. I would like to take Li Mi's place as a hostage and ask Li Mi to go in person There is a way to stop it.” In view of the tense situation at that time, Lu Han had no choice but to accept Li's wife's suggestion and release Li Mi. Li Mi was released on the 16th. After returning to Dabanqiao, he immediately convened a meeting with division commanders and above, and decided to capture Kunming first, and then defeat Lu Han.Li Mi then returned to Zhanyi Army Headquarters to rest.Tang Yao telegraphed Li Mi's coming out to Taiwan, and suggested that Li Mi and Yu Chengwan be given the names of the chairman of Yunnan Province and the director of Yunnan appeasement respectively.Chiang Kai-shek and Gu Zhutong quickly replied to approve. In the middle of the night on the 17th, Tang Yao received another telegram from Gu Zhutong saying that he had called Lu Han and asked him to send people out of the city on the 18th to resolve it peacefully; if Lu Han refused, he would order all the troops to attack on the 19th.Afterwards, Gu Zhutong called again and said that Lu Han had not expressed anything, and all the troops began to attack. At dawn on the 19th, the 26th Army and the 8th Army began to besiege Kunming at the same time. The 8th Army occupied the highlands north of Kunming in the afternoon on the 20th. One has broken into the urban area.The bomber fleet that took off from Hainan Island bombed the area around Wuhua Mountain in time. As of the evening of the 20th, the fighting situation became more tense, and the sound of gunfire continued throughout the night.Everyone judged and agreed that they could enter the city at dawn tomorrow morning.But unexpectedly, Lu Han released Yu Chengwan at this critical moment, so the situation changed suddenly.After Yu Chengwan returned to the headquarters of the 26th Army, he immediately ordered the entire army to retreat to Yiliang, so that a regiment that had already entered the urban area was wiped out by Lu Han's troops because it failed to retreat in time.After Yu Chengwan left the city, he did not contact the Eighth Army.In the above situation, the military intelligence team stationed in the 26th Army immediately reported to Chiang Kai-shek. In the middle of the night on the 20th, when the battle was fierce, the 8th Army heard the sudden silence of the guns from the 26th Army in the eastern suburbs of Kunming. Cao Tiange was very suspicious and tried to contact him by phone. after all.Soon, they came back and reported that some units of the 26th Army had begun to retreat.Cao Tiange thought that Yu Chengwan might have merged with Lu Han and dealt with the 8th Army alone. The reason was that Yu Chengwan and Shi Butian were still with Lu Han, and the 26th Army and the 8th Army had always been at odds.Therefore, Cao Tiange categorically ordered the first-line troops to immediately retreat to Dabanqiao and gather for orders. As of noon on the 21st, the 8th Army had not yet completed its assembly. Tang Yao rushed from Guyi to Dabanqiao, fantasizing about reversing the situation.On the one hand, he demanded that the retreating troops of the Eighth Army stop on the spot, and on the other hand, he sent Ma Yuejun (a fellow countryman of Yu Chengwan), the section chief of the Army Headquarters, to accompany Ding Zuoshao, an "anti-communist doctor" who had a close friendship with Yu Chengwan, to Chenggong to go Convince Yu Chengwan. After Ding Zuoshao and Ma Yuejun were dispatched, the 8th Army received an urgent telegram from Li Mi from Zhanyi that night, advocating that the 170th Division should occupy Qiaojia immediately, and the main force of the cover army should retreat to north Yunnan, and divide into two columns to go to Sichuan and Yunnan. , Kang border to turn, close to Hu Zongnan.However, the division commander and above of the 8th Army did not agree with the route proposed by Li Mi, and immediately sent a car to Zhanyi to pick up Li Mi and come to Dabanqiao for detailed discussion. After Li Mi came to Dabanqiao, Cao Tiange and all the division commanders and above of the 8th Army believed that Li Mi's opinions had all kinds of disadvantages and no benefits.Everyone agrees: At present, Hu Zongnan is trapped in Xikang, and he is desperate.The areas along the borders of Sichuan, Yunnan, and Kangxi are sparsely populated, and large troops are marching, making it difficult to provide for them.In addition, it was the severe winter, and the officers and soldiers had thin clothes, unable to keep out the cold.At the same time, the family members of the army are also burdened, and I am afraid that they will not be able to reach Xikang, and they have already collapsed.Therefore, it is better to take a bold action to pass through Chenggong and go straight to Jianshui while the two ministries of Lu Han and Yu Chengwan have not yet met.Besides, Yu Chengwan's actual inclination is unknown, and there may still be a possibility of cooperation.The southern Yunnan area is not only rich in materials, but also close to the national border, which is convenient for future advances and retreats. After listening to everyone's opinions, Li Mi felt that it was reasonable, so he canceled his proposition and made the following arrangements: Lingjiao Tutor is the right column, occupying Chenggong, and is responsible for guarding Lu Han to cover the safety of the right side of the main force of the army. After the main force of the army passes, the column will go straight to Shiping to assemble.The main force of the army is the central column, assembled in Chenggong, Jinning, Jiangchuan, Tonghai and Jianshui in the order of the 42nd Division, the Army Headquarters, the Army Headquarters, the 237th Division, and the 170th Division.Let the 3rd Division be the left column, and command the directly-administered team of the Army Headquarters to assemble at Kaiyuan via Luliang, Lunan, Maitreya.All columns are restricted to start operations in the evening of the same day (22nd) in the darkness of night. Before issuing the above order, Tang Yao sent He Xianfo, Chief of the Army Headquarters, to Kunming to meet with Lu Han, pretending to discuss how to deal with the aftermath, so as to ease Lu Han's hostile actions, so that he could safely pass through Chenggong and the east side of Dianchi Lake on the night of the 22nd. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon on the 22nd, Fu Kejun, the deputy commander of the 6th Training Headquarters of the Lu Han faction who had already revolted, brought Lu Han's personal letter and accompanied He Xianfo to Dabanqiao to instigate the uprising again.Li Mi claimed that he was gone. After Tang Yao and Cao Tiange put things in a perfunctory manner, they immediately commanded the troops to start operations. After the 26th Army retreated to Yiliang, Yu Chengwan convened a meeting of officers above the regiment leader to discuss the issue of responding to the Luhan Uprising.Most regiment leaders objected, and believed that if they wanted to retreat, they had to notify the Eighth Army, and they could not ignore it.When the 8th Army was forced to give up attacking Kunming and hastily passed through Chenggong Nankai, some leaders of the 26th Army expressed their willingness to act together with the 8th Army. Between the 26th Army and the 8th Army, there were mainly conflicts between Yu Chengwan and Li Mi, and there was no prejudice between the middle and lower commanders of the two armies.When Yu Chengwan saw that the situation was not good, he sneaked to Mengzi again with Ding Zuoshao and Ma Yuejun. While announcing that he would be the director of appeasement in Yunnan, he sent people back to Ding Zuoshao and Ma Yuejun, expressing his willingness to obey Tang Yao's command. When the 8th Army passed through Chenggong and Jiangchuan, it had contact with Lu Han's troops and repelled Lu's troops.Only when the 3rd Division of the Left Column of the 8th Army went from Luliangxing to Tianshengguan, it was severely blocked by a PLA and Yunnan Frontier Column from the border of Guizhou and Yunnan. In addition to dissipating losses, the 3rd Division itself also lost more than half of its losses in the panic.When the main force of the Central Column of the Eighth Army arrived in Jianshui, it was also violently attacked by the Jianshui People's Armed Forces. As of December 26, the 26th and 8th Armies successively gathered in Mengzi, Kaiyuan, Geyang, Jianshui, Shiping and other areas, and headed east to Xin'an, Mingjiu, Zhonghetang, and patrols. The line of Si Gen Longwu is equipped with a first-line warning line.In addition to restoring contact between the two militaries and eliminating stereotypes, various measures have been taken to strengthen ties with Taiwan.At the end of the year, Chiang Kai-shek sent a large number of air force ground staff to Mengzi Airport to speed up the recovery of Mengzi air transport, and brought in a large number of silver dollar supplies to allow the two armies to rest and reorganize. Tang Yao's plan at this time is: to retreat the two armies to the west of the Lancang River and the Nujiang River as a base; once the rainy season arrives in May, even if the PLA arrives, they will be unable to move temporarily, so they can linger on; wait until after autumn to see the changes in the international situation , and make sense again; as a last resort, you can calmly retreat into Burma and become Baihua.Cao Tiange agreed with Tang Yao's plan. Li Mi believed that southern Yunnan was rich in products and the terrain was dangerous. If necessary, he could deal with the People's Liberation Army for a while, and if it was necessary, it would be convenient to retreat into Vietnam and Laos.It would be a pity to give up these favorable conditions if we leave the Nu River too early.So he was busy looking for the county magistrate, visiting chieftains, wooing bully landlords, mobilizing them to form an "anti-communist self-defense army", and dispatching the 237th Division Li Binfu to Yuanyang and Xiaoguan streets to encourage Yi leaders on both sides of the Red River to take up armed self-defense.The ones that are ready to be assembled at this time are: The so-called "General Headquarters of the Anti-Communist Self-Defense Forces" by Li Runzhi on Cansa Street was commanded by a Lu Mou who had been the ambassador of the Puppet Manchukuo to Germany; "Anti-Communist Column Headquarters"; there was a 93rd Division of recruits, and quite a few detachment commanders in a mess. As for Yu Chengwan, due to the dissatisfaction and suspicion of Chiang Kai-shek, and the opposition of the army commander, he had no choice but to stay close to Tang Yao and Li Mi for the time being, hoping to escape from Yunnan as soon as the traffic resumed and drag his troops away. On Hainan Island, with Yu Hanmou, Xue Yue and others as backers, they were saved from being annihilated by the People's Liberation Army.So his opponent was unwilling to leave the Mengzi Airport where he was about to flee for his life. On January 5, 1950, Tang Yao, Li Mi, and Yu Chengwan flew to Taipei.Xu Langxuan, Director of the Third Department of the Ministry of National Defense, who went to welcome him, said to Tang Yao: "According to the current situation, I want you to return to the mainland to replace Gu Zhutong in command of the military. This will not only relieve Gu's difficulties, but also reduce Hu Zongnan's burden. , they will naturally appreciate you and will fully recommend you." After hearing all these words, although Tang Yao knew that he was taking the blame for Gu Zhutong, but because of his official addiction, he expressed his willingness, but asked for more troops.Xu Langxuan said: "At the moment, we can't ask for too many troops. Once there are more troops, it will become a key point, and it will inevitably involve the issue of requiring Chief Gu to command in person. As long as you have people in the future, you can set up another 10 troops. This is just for a while. Ji, once you gain a firm foothold in the mainland, your designation and equipment will not be a problem." Tang Yao was also moved, and said to Xu Langxuan: "Okay! The general situation is gone, and the high officials are afraid of death, so let me be the lone minister and villain!" This sentence was originally He Yingqin recuperating in the Jiangwan Military Hospital in 1948. When Tang Yao went to visit, He Zeng said to Tang indignantly: "I am not worthy of being a lone minister and evil son, only Chen Cheng can talk about it." It was quoted by Tang Yao today. Xu Langxuan cheered up and said: "There is no need to be so pessimistic. Okamura Ningji suggested to the president that he go to Japan to recruit volunteers. Now there are one or two million Japanese demobilized soldiers who are worrying about having no food. Recruiting can be an emergency. The president has already Agree with his suggestion and decide to send Wu Tiecheng to contact him, it is expected that the situation will improve greatly in the near future." On the evening of January 5, Gu Zhutong took Tang, Li and Yu to meet Chiang Kai-shek.Jiang praised Tang Yao a lot.And said: "It's good if we didn't capture Kunming this time, but we can use it in the future." money?" Yu replied hesitantly, "40,000 silver dollars." Jiang said nonchalantly, "I gave Lu Han a lot of money, why did I only give you this small amount? I know that Lu Han will turn against him in the end, so you can take a little more money from him." At 9 a.m. on January 6, Tang Yao went to the Three People's Principles Practice Institute (this institute was established after Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan, and its nature is roughly the same as the Central Training Corps), and talked with Gu Zhutong and Xiao Yisu in a secret room . Gu: "Since Yu Chengwan is unreliable, it is better to airlift the 26th Army to Taiwan, leave the weapons to you, and expand another army. In addition, Hu Zongnan still has some military students. You can contact them as soon as possible. There are cadres and equipment. , have funds, half of the land in Yunnan and a population of more than 10 million, as long as the strong men are recruited, it will be enough to prevent the Communist Party and self-defense. What's your opinion?" Tang Yao: "With fewer troops, I'm afraid we won't be able to hold our ground." Gu: "The one who makes good use of troops is to attack more with less, otherwise no amount of more will be able to stop the Communist Party. Besides, if you really can't support it anymore, you are allowed to retreat to a foreign country." Tang Yao: "Isn't it good to ask Li Mi to be in charge? All the troops belong to him." Gu: "Li Mi is Wu Qichuan's brother-in-law, and he is very close to Lu Han. Now both of them have rebelled, and he himself has wavered, so the president thinks it is not appropriate to use him." Tang Yao: "Once the 26th Army is airlifted out, all that remains will be his influence. Besides, he is from Yunnan, and he is quite popular among the chieftains. If he is called in charge, he is indeed much stronger than me." Gu: "He will still be his chairman, and the military power will be handed over to you." On the evening of January 6, Bai Chongxi had a conversation with Tang Yao at the Yuanshan Hotel. Li Pinxian and Lin Yizhi, Bai's deputy chief of staff, were also present at the table.As soon as everyone sat down, Bai asked about the recent situation in Yunnan, and then said, "It's a pity you didn't catch Lu Han this time. What do you plan to do in the future?" Tang Yao: "I heard that the president wants me to serve as the commander of the 8th Corps and defend the southwest." Bai: "Excellent! Hurry up and do it. It's not a matter of life and death today. Not even a company platoon leader will fall on your head. Military power is only allowed to be controlled by his disciples and grandchildren. How can you have a share! But you, a corner How can a corps resist the Communist Party? Those who know the current affairs are heroes. It is best to retreat to Vietnam and temporarily succumb to Baoda to preserve their strength until the third war. You have a ready-made army , there is a future. Fortunately, in terms of diplomacy, I have already done it, so why don't you just enjoy what you have?" Tang Yao had known for a long time that Bai Chongxi had a plan to seek refuge in Baoda, Vietnam, so he asked him about the situation in Vietnam and who to contact if he retreated to Vietnam.After Bai told Tang Yao about the situation in Vietnam, he continued: "Tomorrow, He Ling (alias Li Pinxian) will be sent to Vietnam. When you go to Vietnam, just find He Ling. He Ling has a deep friendship with Bao University, and he will definitely make proper arrangements for you. Now the Huang Jie Corps has arrived in Lang Son , Xu Qiming and Liu Jiashu's two corps are advancing towards Vietnam. It's a pity that Lao Jiang disrupted my plan and prevented some of my troops from passing through Yunnan. We had to temporarily divert to the Leizhou Peninsula, resulting in more than half of the losses. Otherwise, we are all in Yunnan now. Replace Lu Han with Lu Daoyuan, control the steep terrain, rich resources, fight if you can fight, defend if you can't fight, and retreat to Vietnam if you can't follow the rules. The Communist Party is afraid of the French and will never chase after Vietnam. We can raise Save your energy and wait for the US-Soviet war to start. At that time, the world will be ours.” 白崇禧说罢，哈哈大笑一阵，接着改口说：“现在虽然损失了些，还来得及，不要紧，有了你们两个军来补充，原计划还能实施。但是行动要迅速，切忌犹疑。最好你们现在就向越南、寮国(老挝)边境撤退，迟了就来不及。要知道共产党一来就是疾风迅雷，使你措手不及。不过，我也知道这两个军原不是你自己的部队，而且他们之间猜忌很深，你是否拖得动，还是大问题。” 汤尧、李弥、余程万飞台湾后，1月8日，第26军和第8军同时接到国防部命令，大意如下： (1)第26军应即准备空运台湾整训。为减轻空运负担，迅速完成空运计划，该军应将所有武器、弹药、器材、马匹、车辆等装备点交第8军接收具领。俟该军到达整训地点后，再由后勤总部照数补发。(2)第26军所担任的蒙自一带防务，自第一批开始空运之日起，统交第8军接替。(3)限电到后，该两军应立即遵照，切实交接具报。 命令转达后，两军官兵都议论纷纷，疑惧横生。 第26军驻扎云南为时较久，不少官佐士兵都是云南人，客籍官佐也有不少在云南成家落户的，因而这部分官兵多数不愿离云南去台湾，纷纷请求发给遣散费。而愿去台湾的，却纷纷请求发给安家费。还有一些团长以上的人员怀疑国防部这一措施，是不是因为不满于26军停止攻击昆明，所以来一个变相缴械。 第8军方面，官兵都认为在这样动荡局势中，有两个军尚且难以自保，现在只留下1个军，一旦有事，将如何应付呢？有的甚至说： “好的做酒，坏的做醋。是不是国防部把我们丢在云南，听它自生自灭了呢？” 1月14日，顾祝同带同李弥、汤尧飞到蒙自(余程万未来)，即用电话通知曹天戈宋见，问到两军目前的情况。曹当即将官兵情绪不安情形据实报告。顾祝同说： “胡宗南方面正要向云南开，他们到来，力量就大了。两军全部薪饷已经由我带来，今后只要你们能确保蒙自机场，你们需要的一切补给是毫无问题的。希望26军能加紧空运，第8军立即开蒙自、开远一带接替26军原有防务，并接收他们一部分不便空运的笨重器材、装具、马匹，作为你们的补充。” 曹天戈问：“武器不移交了吗？” 顾祝同思索了一下，回答： “他们既然不愿意，也就算了，反正补充你们新的也是一样。”又接着说：“现在总裁已经指派汤尧为第8兵团司令，你为副司令，仍兼第8军军长，以42师师长石建中当你的副军长；同时批准了170师师长孙进贤升第9军军长。尽快补足兵额后，就是两个完整的军了。” 1月15日上午，顾祝同召集26军的团长以上军官训话后，当日午后即带同李弥飞往西康，约定次日(16日)飞回蒙自。 但是在顾祝同、李弥飞走不到4小时，第26军军长彭佐熙突然打来电话，说是在蒙自以东40公里处的沙戛龙发现由广西方面来的解放军部队，已同他的前线警戒兵发生接触。汤尧、曹天戈闻听十分惊慌，立即赶到26军军部找彭佐熙商议，并征询彭的应变意见。彭断然说： “26军目前已经无法应战。走的部分已经空运走了；还没走的，正在忙于回家，安顿家务。应该起运的武器装备，多半正在捆扎装箱。精神上已经完全瓦解，再也谈不到什么斗志，除立即从蛮板、蛮耗两点渡过红河，逃往越南外，别无其他妥善办法。” 汤、曹觉得彭所说的情况也是事实，无法相强。可是第8军究竟该怎么办呢？汤、曹估计不待明天拂晓，解放军准可到达蒙自，既不能打，只有赶紧西逃。当即决定命令各部队不分昼夜，立即西撤，到建水集结待命，并将当前突变情况和第26、第8两军的即夕行动急电西昌报告顾祝同。旋经李弥电复，称： “弟决定明早随总长直飞海南岛，俟兄等到达思茅后，弟即赶回部队。” 汤尧、曹天戈接电后，一面督促各电台尽可能叫应各师电台，转达西撤到建水集结待命的命令，一面派出4个得力联络组，分头赶往各师可能到达的现时概略位置，觅取联络。 等到汤尧、曹天戈两人草草布署了上项措施，为时已经半夜。第26军军长彭佐熙和其必要人员早已上车逃个旧，准备渡过红河，实施其预定的逃往越南计划，其第一线部队也已经纷纷向车站撤退。可是第8军各师的联络，除了叫应第42师外，其余都还没有消息。而蒙自机场以东当时已经发生断续枪声，实际情况如何，也无从探悉，真是到了风声鹤唳草木皆兵的关头，汤、曹也只得离开蒙自，赶紧上车逃往建水。 16日午后，汤、曹到达建水车站时，除见到第42师师长石建中外，其他各师还是杳无消息，只得在建水宿营。 17日黄昏时分，第170师孙进贤部仓皇赶到建水，但是第3师田仲达部和237师李彬甫部还是没有下落，经电台彻夜叫喊，也没有回音。于是，汤、曹当晚决定，不管怎样，先到石屏再说。 次日拂晓，汤、曹即令170师、42师迅速向石屏后撤，同时电饬石屏教导师李精干预为安排军部和各师驻地。 19日上午，各方面派出的情报员回来报告： 第3师田仲达部已在个旧附近地区宣布起义；第237师已完全被解放军击溃，师长李彬甫下落不明。 听到这些，汤尧不禁大惊失色。汤、曹连忙决定一面饬令陆续到达的部队随到随休息，作好行动准备；一面趁机召开一次团长以上会议，规定了西撤途中注意事项，同时下达了一个共同命令，规定： (1)19日13时开始，分左右两纵队，以最快速度经宝秀、元江、墨江、普洱向思茅前进； (2)右纵队以教导师、第170师编成，派孙进贤为该纵队指挥官，限于本日(19日)13时开始迄20日拂晓前出发完毕，经宝秀以北道路，直趋元江，控制元江两岸制高点，确保元江大桥，以掩护军主力安全通过。尔后该纵队即解除右纵队任务，改任军主力的后卫，以孙进贤为后卫司令官，继续在原地监视，迟滞解放军的追击。尔后与军保持一天距离跟进，同时彻底破坏元江大桥。 (3)左纵队以第42师和军直属部队编成，派石建中为该纵队指挥官，限于明日(20日)12时出发，经宝秀直趋元江，行进中，军部随该纵队前卫跟进，通过元江大桥后，该纵队即解除左纵队任务，改任军主力的前卫，以石建中为前卫司令官，继续向预定目标急进。 第8军军部于1月20日午后随左纵队从石屏出发不久，在行进途中即接到飞机投下的通信筒一只，内有海南岛空军司令部转达国防部给曹天戈亲启密电一件，要求该军迅即设法与国防部取得联络，并嘱该军到达思茅地区后，务即控制该地区临时机场，以便空运接济。 大概是1月20日23时光景，突然听到宝秀以北右纵队方面发生由疏而密的枪炮声。原来是解放军派出担任追击搜索的1个班，这时已经赶了上来，领着先头部队占领了要点，开始攻击。疲惫已极的第8军官兵从睡梦中惊醒过来，连忙乱跑乱窜，向西逃命，一直逃到元江。 当第8军军部随左纵队于1月21日拂晓离开宝秀继续西窜时，前卫部队在行进途中，几个原来引路的向导突然跑了，只得就地另找两个向导领路。到了黄昏时分，先头部队才发现已经走入了一条河山阻隔的绝路，此时向导也不见了，只得就地在河滩上露营，坐待天明。 汤尧看着曹天戈苦笑着说：“大概我们已经快走麦城了。” 到第二天(22日)拂晓，全部人马只好渡涉河滩，爬山越岭，摸索行进。直到天黑，还走不到4里，部队也越拉越长，当晚只好在山顶上一个村落里过夜。可是村落里老百姓早已逃避一空，见不到一个人影，连饮水水源也遭到破坏，使部队当晚煮饭饮水都成了严重问题。 23日，汤、曹继续摸索西行。午后4时，突闻42师前卫部队方面枪声密起，旋即左纵队指挥官石建中报称： “在路过铺岔路口(距元江约50里)，已经与来自同一方面、追击右纵队的解放军遭遇，开始接触，盼军部在前卫掩护下，迅速通过。” 汤尧、曹天戈知道解放军已经赶上来了，确已到了生死关头，于是决定星夜向元江行动，企图拂晓前能在右纵队掩护下，逃过元江大桥。 24日拂晓，汤、曹赶到元江红河东岸一个高山上时，即接到170师一个后卫团团长的报告： “我们师长已经过河毁桥，连我们整个团也不要了。现在解放军已经控制了渡口制高点，我们进退无路，请军长指示尔后行动。” 汤尧、曹天戈听说元江大桥已经炸毁，觉得已经陷入绝境，经同各部队长商议，准备天黑时下山突围。此时据说离元江大桥20里处，有一处可渡涉的渡河点。 当晚(24日)天黑后，解放军第4兵团部队已在第8军残部南侧开始猛力攻击，敌42师除以一部散开还击外，其余都急忙下山逃命。沿途不断遭到解放军封锁射击，加上天黑地生，儿啼妇嚎，简直寸步维艰。 走到半夜里，汤尧、曹天戈两人又因摸错了路，彼此分了道。曹天戈在后半夜里，也不知摸过几条溪，爬过几个坡，走了多少路，直到第二天(25日)破晓，才发现还是处在解放军制高点火力封锁之下。这时跟着走的人，除了军部一个姓王的参谋处代理处长外，还有将近1个营的士兵。 曹天戈到此也已经精疲力竭，不愿再逃，事实上也不可能再逃，就叫大家坐下来休息，听侯缴械。一会儿，两个解放军战士从山上下来，众人就放下了武器，被解放军带到指定地点休息。 第三天(26日)午后，汤尧和第8军参谋长杨也可等也被解送来了。他们几位老朋友相见，真是别有一番滋味在心头。这时，他们才知道第42师师长石建中已不知去向，部队已经全部缴械，团长、师参谋长和两个副师长同时被俘。 大约2月下旬，汤尧、曹天戈等到了开远解放军第13军军部，才又得悉那个“过河拆桥”的第170师师长孙进贤和教导师师长李精干，也已经在黑江以南地区被解放军俘获。两师部队除一小股逃窜国境外，均已全部缴械。至此，国民党军在云南的残余部队全部消灭。 云南全境宣告解放，五星红旗高高飘扬在怒江岸边、横断山脉。 三十八团原为保安十二团，是昆明起义部队中唯一由地下党员任团长的一个团。团长李焕文曾在朱家璧领导下参加过许多进步活动，解放战争中在东北策动滇军起义被国民党关押，后受东北解放军敌工部派遣，携滇军被俘将领卢泉的推荐信，于1948年底回云南面见卢汉。1949年3月，卢汉委任李焕文为省府警卫营长。5月，李焕文经“边纵”驻昆联络员朱华介绍，加入党的外围组织“新联严”。6月，李焕文的组织关系转给市委敌工领导小组。8月，由田培宽介绍加入共产党。 1949年11月，李焕文调任新建的保安十二团团长，驻防禄劝县城。这个团始建于1948年8月，兵员不足1000人，只有轻武器装备，隆冬时节尚未发足棉衣。 李焕文赴禄劝前，敌工领导小组指示他：“要照我人民解放军的标准把这个团带好，教育好，把广大官兵团结在党的周围，把部队改造成人民的军队，时机成熟时按照党的号令行动。” 李焕文带领一批党的外围组织成员到保安十二团任职后，用“三大纪律八项注意”和“三大民主”来教育部队。他在全团大会上宣布： 一、当官的不准打骂士兵。当兵的不应开小差，家里确有困难需要回家的，讲清楚可以回家，走时欢送并发给路费；逃跑了自动回来的要欢迎，不予追究。 二、军官不准贪污士兵的军饷。事务长要办好伙食，上面发多少就给士兵吃多少，不准克扣。如果我贪污士乒一分钱，你们可以扛着刺刀到团部把我捅掉。 三、要爱护百姓，不准强买强卖，买卖要公平。 四、我们都住在老百姓家里，借用老百姓的东西要归还，损坏的要赔偿，离开老百姓家时要打扫干净，把水缸挑满。 为了改善土兵的生活，李焕文带领部队在驻地开荒种菜。有人说我们住不长，种了菜也吃不上，李焕文告诉他们：如果我们走了，菜可以留给别的部队，再不然就送给老百姓。我们都是来自老百姓的，送几亩莱给老百姓也理所应当。 李焕文对部队要求很严。在行军途中，每天出发前他都去老百姓家检查借的东西还了没有，地扫没扫，水缸挑满了没有，如果没做好都派人补做。一个事务长以低价强买老百姓的猪肉，李焕文发现后立即撤了他的职。 昆明起义后，部队调到牛街庄布防。李焕文检查阵地时发现有十来个士兵没有棉衣，就立即通知军需送来，并对士兵表示歉意。士兵感动地说：“团长这样关心我们，又起义了，是解放军了，跟着团长干死了也情愿。” 李焕文根据党的指示，用人民解放军的标准来要求部队，党盟员以身作则，说到做到，为保安十二团注入了新的活力，部队战斗力大大提高，在昆明保卫战中发挥了重要作用。 1949年12月9日昆明起义，粉碎了国民党企图盘踞云南负隅顽抗的梦想。蒋介石嫡系部队第八军、第二十六军及5个团的宪兵共6万余人，由曲靖、开远两路向昆明发起猛烈进攻，并扬言：“攻入昆明放假三天”。此时，人民解放军正由省外日夜兼程驰援昆明。“边纵”主力亦由滇西迅速向昆明靠拢，保卫昆明的重任刻不容缓地落在昆明人民和起义部队肩上。中共昆明市委号召“全市人民紧急行动起来，保卫昆明”，广泛发动和组织全市各阶层人民积极投入昆明保卫战，组织了3000多人的“昆明义勇自卫总队”，配合起义军警守卫城市，维持秩序；派出干部和党、盟员领导临时军政委员会公安处搜捕敌特和反动分子，保证社会治安；并派出400多名党、盟员和积极分子以参军名义进入起义部队开展政治工作；组织各人民团体慰问犒劳起义部队，大大鼓舞了部队的士气，激发他们保卫起义成果的决心和坚定必胜的信心。 12月16日，保卫昆明的战斗正式打响。第八军集结大板桥，从东北郊推进至黄土坡。第二十六军集结于呈贡，攻占巫家坝飞机场后，企图沿城郊向西发展，与第八军在黄土皮汇合，切断昆明往西的通道，形成对昆明的包围态势。 起义部队共有18个团，加上后勤人员、警察、义勇自卫队，总数不足4万人。其中还有6个团驻扎在禄丰、一平浪一带，部队的装备、训练也远劣于敌军。起义部队在东、南两线抗击来犯之敌，东线3个团防守龙头村、黑龙潭、长虫山一线；南线4个团防守跑马山、小板桥、响水闸、牛街庄一线；并以巫家坝、石虎关、黑店营、归化寺为预备阵地；另有3个团布防在市区边缘；并在大、小连山、火车北站、交三侨、东站、五里多、双龙桥、云南纱厂一线构筑90座碉堡，将滇池沿岸所有船支集中封锁在大观楼、篆塘，以防敌军偷渡滇池。 经过3天的激战，起义部队因力量悬殊、战线过长，于18日主动放弃了外围阵地，缩短战线，集中兵力退守市区边缘，固守待援。 12月16日，三十八团奉命自禄劝急行军到达昆明东郊牛街庄，响水闸布防，参加昆明保卫战。其左翼为防守呼马山的三十二团，其右翼的三十六团防守跑马山，二十七团防守小板桥。 面对敌我悬殊的严峻形势，昆明市委临肘军队工作委员会向起义部队中的党、盟员发出“紧急动员起来，保卫昆明，迎接解放军；起义是一功，坚守阵地，保卫昆明，为人民再立一功”的号召。市委副书记赖卫民与临时军工委书记王裕昆、委员费炳等经常了解起义部队的战斗情况，及时指导党、盟员的工作，要求他们以自己的模范行动，带动和影响起义部队官兵，坚决战斗，保卫昆明，保卫起义成果。 16日黄昏，东线第八军一七○师五一○团沿滇黔公路两侧向三十八团牛街庄阵地及三十二团呼马山阵地发起猛烈进