Chapter 74 Exchange Yan'an for the whole of China

I don't know if it is a coincidence of history, or there are indeed many amazing similarities in history.As early as 2,000 years ago, Sima Qian pointed out that if you want to conquer the world, you must first occupy the north and then develop from north to south. As the wheels of history rolled towards the middle of the 20th century, the land of China once again showed a situation of confrontation between the two armies.Backed by Uncle Sam, Chiang Kai-shek's Nanjing Nationalist Government took advantage of its temporary military superiority to provoke a full-scale civil war.The Kuomintang army was mobilized and attacked across the board, launching a full-scale attack on the vast liberated areas centered on Yan'an.

Yan'an, as the head office of the Communist Party of China and the headquarters of the People's Liberation Army, naturally became the center for the people's leaders to plan strategies.In just 8 months, Mao Zedong commanded the People's Liberation Army to wipe out more than 700,000 enemies here, completely defeating the Kuomintang army's all-out attack on the liberated areas. Chiang Kai-shek, who lost his army and lost his general, was furious in the Nanjing presidential palace. He pointed at Yan'an on the map with a civilized stick and gave orders: this nail must be pulled out.

2 Dumbbells call, Yan'an is to withdraw?Is it Shou?The problem was put in front of Mao Zedong. Chiang Kai-shek, who was in a panic, changed his style of play, changing his "comprehensive attack" to "key attack", and struck out with both fists, pointing directly at northern Shaanxi and Shandong.Liu Bocheng compared Chiang Kai-shek's cruel move to "dumbbell tactics"-thick at both ends and thin in the middle, like a dumbbell. The power of dumbbells is at both ends. On February 14, 1947, Chiang Kai-shek activated the southern part of Hu Zong, which had been recharging his energy and energy in the Northwest Plateau for 10 years, and rushed to Yan'an.

Hu Zongnan, the most loyal and proud student, finally won the godsend opportunity to ask for credit and reward. Back then, with a five-foot stature, he applied for the Whampoa Military Academy, but he was eliminated in the interview due to his size.Fortunately, he was heard by the party representative of the military academy who loves talents. Seeing that he was eager to join the army and had a firm will, he was allowed to break the rules and take the exam, and was admitted to the Whampoa No. 1 class. Who said good fortune never comes together, after Hu Zongnan entered the school, he found that he and the dignified principal were in the same hometown.In this way, he had a chance to get closer to Chiang Kai-shek. At the same time, Chiang Kai-shek also appreciated this hard-working and motivated student and fellow countryman, and intended to win him over.Since then, Hu Zongnan has become the backbone of the "Fuxing Society" and one of the "Thirteen Taibaos", favored by Lao Jiang.Especially after Chiang Kai-shek left the field for the first time, Hu Zongnan and Zhu Shaoliang contacted their Whampoa classmates, tried their best to resist Li Zongren, Bai Chongxi and He Yingqin, and supported Chiang Kai-shek's comeback.

For Chiang Kai-shek, it is of course rare to have such a hard-working student.As a result, he handed over the first division of his fortune to the desperate Hu Zongnan, and later appointed him as the commander of the first army. During the Anti-Japanese War, Chiang Kai-shek placed Hu Zongnan in the northwest.Hu Zongnan hid behind the Eighth Route Army, watched the fire from the other side, and only dreamed of picking peaches.After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Hu Zongnan, who had been recruiting troops and recruiting forces, had mastered the largest strategic reserve team in the country at that time.

After receiving Chiang Kai-shek's warrant, "King of the Northwest" Hu Zongnan led 20 or so brigades to attack Yan'an, the Red Capital. In the face of menacing and aggressive enemy troops, the Northwest People's Liberation Army stationed in Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia had only 6 brigades of 250,000 people, and the ratio of its forces to the Kuomintang was 10:1, and it was also at an absolute disadvantage in terms of equipment.Especially the lack of ammunition. At that time, each rifle had only 0 bullets on average, and each machine gun had less than 500 bullets. The troops defending Nanniwan, an important position in Yan'an, had an average of less than 10 bullets per rifle, and the shells were even more lacking.

The situation is dangerous, is Yan'an withdrawing?Is it Shou?A difficult problem was placed before Mao Zedong... Of course, after the tempering of the war, the strength of the People's Liberation Army is also different from the past. On February 25, 1947, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China informed the people of the border area through the "Liberation Daily" that "the enemy drew troops to invade Guanzhong Yan'an". The heroic people were outraged. Practicing shooting, bombing, assassination, and tactics, the field army and the local army set off an upsurge of training, gearing up to beat the invading enemy.

Planting landmines, making weapons, and learning how to destroy attacks, people in the border areas formed self-defense guerrillas in groups, joined the army and participated in the war, and stood ready for battle. On the afternoon of March 8, all walks of life in Yan'an held a mobilization meeting to defend the border area and defend Yan'an at the chamber of commerce.More than 10,000 people attended the meeting. Except for government employees and school teachers and students, most of them were farmers and militiamen who came from around Yan'an.At the mobilization meeting, following Commander-in-Chief Zhu, Peng Dehuai delivered an impassioned and inspiring speech:

"In 1935, Liu Zhidan in northern Shaanxi had only 3,000 people, and then Xu Haidong had only 3,000 people. In the end, the Central Red Army marched to northern Shaanxi, and there were only 7,000 people, and the total number did not exceed 15,000. How many enemies are there? I remember There are 101 regiments and 300,000 people. The Nationalist and Communist forces are 20:1. But at that time we were on the southern front, then crossed the Yellow River to Shanxi, and then crossed the Yellow River to the western front. We were invincible. The Northeast Army made peace Going to fight against Japan, Yan Xishan was frightened and couldn't sit still in Taiyuan, Ma Hongkui lost his troops and generals, and Hu Zongnan was defeated in the mountain castle. In the end, Chiang Kai-shek was also taught a lesson in Lintong. Today, Hu Zongnan has only 35 regiments, and we are 1 Fifty thousand people are much more."

Speaking of this, Peng Dehuai asked everyone: "Can we win?" More than 10,000 people answered in unison: "We will definitely win!" "Yes, we will definitely win!" Peng Dehuai looked very excited looking at the Yan'an soldiers and civilians who were full of confidence in the victory.He waved his arms and said loudly, "We won the battle 11 years ago, we won the battle now, and we will win the battle in the future!" "It is very likely that Hu Zongnan's 35 regiments will be wiped out here." The slogan of swearing to the death to defend Yan'an, the Party Central Committee, and Chairman Mao resounded throughout the land of Sanqin...an emergency mobilization order was issued, calling on the army and the people to defend the liberated areas. Hu Zongnan, the director, and Liu Guoyun, commander of the Air Force Third Military Region, deployed a joint land and air attack on Yan'an.

In a short period of time, nearly a hundred fighter jets flew from the small Xi'an Airport, accounting for 3/5 of the total number of Kuomintang Air Force aircraft. Hu Zongnan, who was eager to claim credit, transferred back the 1st Division and the 90th Division of Subian at an unprecedented speed. At the same time, he mobilized tens of thousands of troops from southern Shanxi and western Henan to concentrate around Yan'an.In addition, the Ma Hongkui Group in Ningxia, the Ma Bufang Group in Qinghai, and the Deng Baoshan Group in Yulin cooperated on the western and northern fronts respectively in a vain attempt to capture Yan'an in one fell swoop, annihilate the People's Liberation Army in the border areas, and destroy the leadership center of our party in order to whitewash the defeat and defraud the US aid , Invigorate the extremely low morale, and then concentrate our forces to seize North China and Northeast China. 2. Mao Zedong made an empty plan to kill the enemy and surround him on all sides, plow the court and sweep the hole, and occupy it effectively. This is Chiang Kai-shek's wishful thinking. Confront the enemy, fight positional warfare, and never abandon Yan'an. This is the common aspiration of the soldiers and civilians in the border area. The people who were waiting in battle worried that the fall of Yan'an would blow out the light of hope, but at the same time, they believed in the "great savior" Mao Zedong who rose in the flames of war. They discussed in private: I wonder what Chairman Mao said? Mao Zedong's office at Wangjiaping PLA headquarters in Yan'an was brightly lit. He convened several central meetings to analyze the situation and deploy battles. After the battle broke out, Shi Zhe, then director of the Secretariat of the Central Committee, asked whether Yan'an should withdraw or be punctual. Mao Zedong lit a cigarette and said with a smile, "We don't have to stop them from occupying Yan'an." He explained, "Chiang Kai-shek's Ah was full of energy. When he occupied Yan'an, he thought he had won. But in fact, as soon as he occupied Yan'an, he lost everything." "Since Yan'an is a world-famous city, it is also a heavy burden. Since he wants to carry this burden, let him carry it. And then again, since you can hit Yan'an, I can also hit Nanjing Go. Come and not go indecently." Exchange one Yan'an for the whole of China. Mao Zedong made a final decision, and all of them withdrew, leaving one empty city. Back then, Zhuge Liang used the empty city plan to retreat from the enemy, but now Mao Zedong used the empty city plan to kill the enemy. The soldiers and civilians in Yan'an who have lived and fought here for nearly 10 years are hard to give up, and there are many discussions... Mao Zedong explained to the people of Yan'an with confidence: "We are throwing a bone for a piece of fat!" "However, Yan'an is a hard bone. If Hu Zongnan wants to gnaw on this bone, it's not easy to gnaw on it! If it's not done well, it could break his teeth or choke his throat!" Peng Dehuai emphasized that "don't be afraid to smash the pots and pans. Only when we smash the pots and pans can we go into battle lightly, so that we can better destroy the invading enemies." If you want to take it, you must first give it.Only when our army withdraws from Yan'an, lures the enemy to go deep, and allows the enemy to occupy a little more space and carry the burden on our backs, can we go into battle lightly and look for opportunities to annihilate the enemy in mobile warfare. The idea was made, and with an order, the Yan'an retreat was carried out in an orderly and orderly manner. The things that are urgently needed are taken away, and the things that are not urgently needed and cannot be moved are all walled up.The books of Yan'an University and the mills of fellow villagers were all buried... Thousands of catties or tens of thousands of catties of grain in each household were transported up the mountain from the big stockpile, hidden in the ditches, and buried in the cellar. Zhou Enlai said humorously that if there was not a Yanhe River, the enemy would never even want to drink their saliva! The US military observation team and foreign reporters were amazed that the Yan'an retreat in front of them contained a unique meaning. Witnessing this retreat, the German doctor Robbie was deeply moved.He wrote: I have experienced the chaos generated by Hitler's invasion of Czechoslovakia, but the Yenan retreat was the most orderly retreat of any capital. After the U.S. military observation team withdrew from Yan'an, Colonel Searles said in a meeting with Chinese and foreign journalists in Peiping: "The retreat in Yan'an was in very good order. All the CCP's supplies in Yan'an were moved, and the hospital and radio equipment were also moved to the New base." Talking about the morale of the CCP, he said: "Based on my experience in Yan'an for five months, I have not felt any change in the morale of the CCP." Soon, the army and civilians retreated. On March 11, just 7 hours after the US military observation team in Yan'an withdrew, the Kuomintang planes carried out large-scale indiscriminate bombing of Yan'an. In the early morning of the 17th, Pei Changhui, director of the forward command post of the Xi'an Appeasement Administration, commanded two reorganized armies and 15 brigades with 140,000 people to Yan'an. The Kuomintang planes took off from Xi'an, Zhengzhou, and Taiyuan airports respectively, gathered over the red capital, and nearly 60 tons of bombs exploded Yan'an into a sea of ​​flames in an instant. Amidst the clear sound of guns and guns, the calm and composed Mao Zedong still stayed in the Wangjiaping cave in Yan'an, discussing with Zhou Enlai and Wang Zhen the policy of fighting against the enemy. A heavy bomb fell in front of Mao Zedong's cave, and the air wave rushed in, knocking down the thermos bottle on the table. Mao Zedong still looked through the documents as if nothing had happened.The guard soldiers were in a hurry and advised Mao Zedong to leave earlier. Mao Zedong said, "Why are you leaving so early? I still want to see what the enemy looks like here?" After Mao Zedong arranged for the blocking troops to withdraw from the position, he inspected several cave dwellings in Wangjiaping with Zhou Enlai and Peng Dehuai, and said: "Clean the house, this is the way to welcome guests!" Under the persuasion of Peng Dehuai and others, Mao Zedong Only then did I reluctantly bid farewell to Yan'an, where I had lived for 10 years.When he left, he looked at the towering Pagoda Mountain in the vast night, and said affectionately: "It can be as little as a year, or as much as two years. We still have to come back." Come! On the morning of the 19th, the Kuomintang army occupied Yan'an, which was empty. After Hu Jun invaded and occupied Yan'an, he sent troops to burn, kill and loot everywhere, digging every village three feet to search for grain and utensils buried by the people.The doors, windows and cabinets of every household were either smashed and burned, or looted for repairs. Hu Zongnan, the commander-in-chief of the first war zone, triumphantly and arrogantly entered the city in a military vehicle.He not only wants to present awards to the "meritorious personnel" himself, but also entrusts the Yan'an administrative inspector. When Chiang Kai-shek learned of the occupation of Yan'an, he also happily held a celebration party in Nanjing, and awarded his favorite student Hu Zongnan the "Second-class Great Ribbon Yunhui Medal". The triumphant Chiang Kai-shek boasted to the American ambassador to China who came to the meeting, saying: "By the end of August and the beginning of September, the Communist Party will either be wiped out or driven to remote inland areas." Although Hu Zongnan said that what he occupied was an empty city, but for the sake of the reputation of the party and the country, he couldn't tell the truth.In the telegram, he boasted that he arrived at a place more than 10 miles away from Yan'an on the afternoon of the 18th, and after a fierce battle, Yan'an has been recovered this morning (19th). "...According to preliminary statistics, the communist army suffered more than 10,000 casualties, and more than 2,000 surrendered. The national army completely occupied Yan'an at 10:00 this morning, and is currently in exile." After hearing the news, Chiang Kai-shek believed it to be true, and wrote excitedly in his diary: "Yan'an, the nest of the traitorous party, is regarded as the Red Capital by the world, but on the eve of the 20th anniversary of its rebellion, it is also for us to overcome the southern part of Hu Zong. Cloud is lucky!" However, Chiang Kai-shek, kept in the dark by his favorite student, will soon find that his elite troops have fallen into the mushroom tactics of Mao Zedong and Peng Dehuai, making it difficult to preserve them.