Chapter 6 Chapter 5 Mao Zedong Let Ye Fei Corps Enter Fujian, Chiang Kai-shek Persuaded Tang Enbo to Cross the Taiwan Strait

Mao Zedong let Ye Fei Corps enter Fujian early.Chiang Kai-shek persuaded Tang Enbo to cross the Taiwan Strait on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. (Xiamen area, September-October 1949) On the afternoon of September 23, 1949, the Kuomintang defenders could not resist the advance of the People's Liberation Army, and finally gave up Jimei and fled to Xiamen Island by boat.The 29th Army of the 10th Corps of the People's Liberation Army occupied Jimei Town.Soon thereafter, the commander of the Corps, who was born in the local revolution, rushed to this famous town after many years of absence.He wore the same cloth military uniform as the soldiers, with a wide belt and leggings. He was thin, lean and alert.He saw that the buildings in the whole town were preserved after the war, and the magnificent and unique school village buildings and streets and towns were intact.He was very happy, and he praised the regiment leader of the 253rd regiment who had occupied the town on the spot:

"I heard that you fought very hard and worked hard! The soldiers have contributed a lot. Not only Chairman Mao and the common people thank you, but also overseas Chinese and old Mr. Tan Kah Kee." When the 29th Army advanced to Jimei Town, north of Xiamen, it encountered a problem: how to deal with the Kuomintang troops who relied on the school village buildings in the town to resist.Jimei Town is the hometown of Mr. Tan Kah Kee, a famous patriotic overseas Chinese. Tan Kah Kee invested heavily in building a beautiful and spectacular school village in his hometown, which made Jimei Town famous at home and abroad.During the Anti-Japanese War, Tan Kah Kee actively supported the motherland's Anti-Japanese War. He not only donated anti-war materials to the Kuomintang-controlled areas, but also donated a large amount of materials to Yan'an to support the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army.It can be said that Mr. Chen is a good friend of the CCP.For this reason, the Central Military Commission specifically instructed Sanye Headquarters to avoid the use of artillery rather than bloodshed when occupying Jimei Town.When the battle of Jimei began on September 21, a regiment of the Kuomintang army used the high ground to the north of the town and the buildings in the town to form a support point defense system.The 253rd Regiment of the People's Liberation Army, which was responsible for the attack mission, strictly followed the orders of its superiors, and only used light infantry weapons in their hands to attack and destroy the opponent's support points one by one. Therefore, the battle was fierce and the progress was slow. After two days and nights of fierce fighting, they captured all the strongholds on the outskirts of the town. This forced the Kuomintang army to abandon the town and flee.

While inspecting the town he was familiar with when he was a teenager, the young corps commander ordered his subordinates to give a special report to the leaders of the Military Commission and Sanye Headquarters: All the buildings in Jimei town that our army captured with light weapons were intact. The commander of this corps is Ye Fei, who just turned thirty-four this year.He was born in a mountain town in Luzon, Philippines.My father was a poor farmer who traveled across the ocean from Nan'an County, Fujian Province to the Philippines to make a living.Ye Fei has two mothers.His biological mother is a Filipino who is proficient in English. She taught Ye Fei English since she was a child.When Ye Fei was five years old, he left his biological mother and returned to China to live with his father's original wife.This domestic mother was barren and raised Ye Fei and his second brother who returned home at the same time as their own sons.After graduating from middle school in Xiamen, he went out to participate in the revolution and lost contact with his family. This time when he marched into Fujian, he met his mother in China, and later took her to live with him in Fuzhou.Because of this special experience, he was called "General Overseas Chinese".

Ye Fei boarded the observatory on the top of the commanding heights of Jimei Town, and he could clearly see the northern part of Xiamen Island over the sea with his naked eyes.Holding up the binoculars, the beaches, cliffs, buildings and fortifications on the opposite island are even more vivid. Xiamen is in sight! Take down Xiamen Island and the nearby Kinmen Island in one fell swoop, and Fujian Province can be regarded as a complete solution!In a few days, October 1st, the People's Republic of China will be announced in Beijing.The Sanye headquarters has repeatedly called to urge the Tenth Corps: It is hoped that Xiamen will be liberated before the founding of New China as a gift to the Republic.

The development of the national situation at that time was much faster than originally expected.At the beginning of the year, that is, on January 18, 1949, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was still in Xibaipo. Mao Zedong drafted an inner-party instruction for the Central Committee, "The Current Situation and the Party's Tasks in 1949," which stated: "One 1949 and 1950 will be the two years when the Chinese revolution will triumph throughout the country." And it was specifically determined: "In the summer, autumn and winter of 1949, we should strive to occupy Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, the Soviet Union, the Most of Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shaanxi, Gansu and other provinces, and some of them are all.” For Fujian, it is required to occupy some areas in northern Fujian close to Zhejiang, and liberate the whole province in 1950 .After crossing the Yangtze River, the situation developed even faster. The enemy forces in the Nanjing area were completely wiped out. The remnant enemies in Shanghai did not escape much, and Hangzhou was captured easily.At that time, Mao Zedong's dominant thinking can be summed up in two lines of poems he wrote, that is, "It is better to pursue the poor with the remaining bravery, and not to learn to be the overlord".In order to pursue and wipe out the collapsed Kuomintang army in one go, and to finally eliminate the danger of US armed intervention, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to liberate the whole of China one year in advance.

When the battle to capture Shanghai was in full swing, on May 23, Mao Zedong and the Central Military Commission telegraphed the three fields: "Go to Fujian early, and try to occupy Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou and other key points within June or July. And prepare the camera to capture Xiamen." On May 27th, just after the Battle of Shanghai, the Tenth Corps commanded by Ye Fei received a telegram from Sanye Headquarters: All armies that did not take on the guard duty were withdrawn to the suburbs to rest after the battle, and all Tenth Corps were preparing to enter Fujian. At that time, the three field forces led by Chen Yi and Su Yu had four corps and fifteen armies with a total of 600,000 people.The deployment after the Battle of Shanghai was as follows: the Seventh Corps was preparing to attack the Zhoushan Islands, the Eighth Corps guarded the Ninghu-Hangzhou area and suppressed bandits, the strongest main force, the Ninth Corps, rested and trained in southern Jiangsu to prepare for crossing the sea to attack Taiwan, and the Tenth Corps The Corps is responsible for marching into Fujian.The Sanye headquarters had considered that the Kuomintang troops who had fled to Fujian were all remnants and defeated generals. Originally, they planned to enter Fujian with only two armies. After Ye Fei suggested that the two armies would not have enough troops to enter Fujian, the headquarters decided to use the 10th Corps and the three armies of the Twenty-eighth, The 29th and 31st have a total of more than 100,000 people, all of whom live in Fujian.The headquarters also approved Ye Fei's proposal to let the Ten Corps rest for a month.

On July 2, Ye Fei and Political Commissar Wei Guoqing led the troops of the 10th Corps to set off from Suzhou, Changshu, Jiaxing and other resting places to march southward despite the scorching heat.At that time, taking advantage of the embarrassing situation where the Kuomintang army was unwilling to defend and could not escape, the Tenth Corps launched a roundabout attack on Fuzhou with three troops. After only four days of fighting, it captured Fuzhou on August 17.The Tenth Corps then sent their troops southward, destroying the dead and conquering Quanzhou and Zhangzhou without any major battles.By the end of September, the Tenth Corps had completely controlled the coastal positions on the mainland outside Xiamen, forming a situation of three-sided encirclement of Xiamen and Kinmen Islands.The task of the next stage is to capture Xiamen and Jinmen, clear the periphery for the future Taiwan campaign, and occupy the starting position.

Xiamen is just across the sea.The cross-sea attack on islands is not only a brand new task faced by the Sanye Ten Corps, but also a new task in the entire history of PLA warfare.It made Ye Fei, a young warrior who had made great achievements on land, look at the sea and meditate, and he couldn't sleep for many nights. Xiamen Island covers an area of ​​128 square kilometers. It faces Kinmen Island across the sea to the east, and is surrounded by the mainland on the west, south, and north sides. The nearest point is less than two kilometers away from the mainland.It is adjacent to the small island Gulangyu Island in the west.Gulangyu Island is only one kilometer away from the mainland.Xiamen is an important treaty port along the coast of China.On the island, there are permanent fortifications built by the Japanese army in World War II, and the Kuomintang army added and strengthened these fortifications.In terms of formation, there are forward positions, main resistance positions, and deep core positions. Most of the fortifications in the positions are reinforced concrete structures.The forward position consists of minefields, barbed wire fences, deer villages, and outer trenches, forming a circular defense system for the fortress.Tang Enbo, Liu Ruming, Mao Sen and others who guarded the island threatened that "it will be no problem to guard the island for three to five years."

In the "Memoirs of Ye Fei" published in 1988, it is recorded that he attached great importance to crossing the sea and attacking buildings at that time, for fear of problems—— Although the Battle of Fuzhou and the battles of Quan and Zhang went smoothly, we took the fortress of Xiamen seriously and made full preparations for the battle across the sea, for fear of problems after a series of victories in Fujian.Chiang Kai-shek strictly defended Xiamen today, Tang Enbo.In the past, the fortifications built by the Japanese in Xiamen were very concealed. They were similar in color to reefs and rocks, so they were difficult to observe, and they could not be found unless they were close.It is not an exaggeration to say that we have never fought against such a fortified island.The enemy is close to Taiwan and has sea and air force, but our army has no sea and air cover.Although the whole country was in dire straits at that time, we realized that the task of landing and capturing Xiamen by wooden boats was arduous. Our army was completely inexperienced and we could not underestimate the enemy, because this was not fighting on the mainland.

At that time, the troops of the People's Liberation Army were all "landlubbers".Ye Fei's Tenth Corps was formed before the Battle of Crossing the River.The predecessor of most of the troops of the Corps was the local troops of the Eighth Route Army in the old base area of ​​Shandong; although they fought several major battles, they lacked heavy artillery equipment.Most of the commanders and fighters were Yankees and were not familiar with water warfare.After occupying Fuzhou, the troops marched into southern Fujian. The main force of the 29th Army and the 31st Army went south along the highway; Pingtan Island, on the one hand, allows the troops to exercise and adapt to the environment of maritime operations.Many members of the 28th Army experienced the battle of the transitional river. They thought they had experience in water warfare. After boarding the ship, they realized that crossing the sea and crossing the river were completely different things. It wasn't until the ship realized that the seasickness was serious, and most of the commanders and fighters vomited in a mess.What's more serious is that the troops lack basic tidal meteorological knowledge, which poses great dangers to operations.

August and September are the seasons when typhoons hit the coastal areas of Fujian and Zhejiang.The 28th Army sailing southward encountered a typhoon unexpectedly, and the fleet was blown away.When they landed on Pingtan Island on September 16, only two regiments made it to the island.Fortunately, there are underground party guerrillas on the island to support them.Because the typhoon was raging, the Kuomintang Air Force did not dispatch, and the Kuomintang troops in Kinmen, Xiamen and Taiwan did not send additional reinforcements to Pingtan Island.After the few troops of the two regiments of the People's Liberation Army came to the island, tens of thousands of Kuomintang defenders were still in shock and vulnerable. The officers fled to Taiwan in search of ships, and the soldiers surrendered one after another.Without fierce fighting, Pingtan Island was successfully occupied by the 28th Army. The biggest problem for the Tenth Corps to cross the sea is the ship.Not only did the People's Liberation Army have no available warships, ships, motor sailboats, and even larger sailboats off the coast of Fujian were looted or destroyed by the Kuomintang army during their retreat.Most of the wooden sailboats that the 28th Army took when they marched south from Fuzhou were blown away by the typhoon when they entered Pingtan Island, so they had to collect supplements from Quanzhou Bay and Jiulong River.However, most of the collected boats are flat-bottomed river boats, and it is difficult to go to sea.The ship problem forced the Tenth Corps to postpone the attack on Xiamen and Jinmen three times.The combat plan also had to be changed from the best plan of "taking both the gold and the buildings" to "first the buildings and then the gold".The combat meeting held by the Tenth Corps in Quanzhou on September 26 believed that "taking both Jinsha and Jinsha" could cause the Kuomintang to disperse its command and troops and manpower, so that it could focus on one thing and lose another, and it could be wiped out; It is difficult to solve for a while. "Gold first, then Xiamen" - can form a complete encirclement of Xiamen, expose the weakness of Xiamen's side and back defenses, and facilitate attacks; the problem is that the Kuomintang army in Xiamen has shown signs of fleeing, and the Kuomintang army in Xiamen may escape, but it is impossible to attack Jinmen first. Annihilation. "Xiamen first, then gold" - the enemy's situation is clear in person, the distance is close, and it is easy to prepare. Ye Fei also learned from intelligence: Chiang Kai-shek made a deployment to stick to Xiamen. The 55th Army of Liu Ruming's Eighth Corps, which was originally guarding the island, was the only surviving unit of the Northwest Army of Feng Yuyang back then, and was not Chiang's direct line; Jiang was worried. In particular, the 166th Division of the Fifth Army, a regiment of the 96th Army, and an armored company were transferred to strengthen the defense of Xiamen Island.Jiang also appointed Tang Enbo as the chairman of Fujian Province, replacing Liu Ruming's command. Mao Sen, the chief of the military command, was also ordered to lead part of the special forces to Xiamen and served as the commander of the Xiamen garrison.Although Chiang Kai-shek wanted his subordinates to defend Xiamen desperately, the Xiamen defenders also showed panic and wavering psychology.For example, the rear of Tang Enbo's headquarters and the Xiamen Supply Command were moved to Little Kinmen, and the patrol office was also moved from Xiamen to the Kinmen headquarters; command agencies above the military level were moved to work on warships; the technical corps and others were withdrawn to Taiwan. Ye Fei judged: Judging from all the signs, Tang Enbo did not have the determination to stick to Xiamen, and he should take advantage of the collapse of the enemy's morale to take down Xiamen and Jinmen.And a deployment was made: it was determined to capture Xiamen with the 31st Army and the 29th Army, and the Da and Xiaodeng Islands with the 28th Army, and made preparations to attack Kinmen. After Xiamen was captured, Kinmen would be attacked again. Because it was the first time in the history of the People's Liberation Army to cross the sea to attack an island with strong defense facilities, the Tenth Corps seriously carried out pre-war training activities.The main exercises are navigation and beach landing operations.At that time, the Kuomintang army had absolute command of the sea and the air, and the PLA's maritime training could only be carried out by the sea at night.Before the training, the boats were lifted to the seaside by manpower, and after the training, the boats were lifted to the shore before dawn to hide.Before going to the sea for training, many cadres and soldiers were not familiar with water, feared the water, feared the wind and waves, had no confidence in riding a wooden boat, and were afraid of sinking into the sea to feed the fish.Through learning, a large number of simple life-saving flotation devices were made, which finally dispelled the concerns of the commanders and fighters. On October 2nd, although Chiang Kai-shek was so uncomfortable that he could not fall asleep last night, he still got up early in the morning according to his old habit. He did not wear dentures and stood by the window in his pajamas, looking out the window silently. The birds in the southern country Already chirping among the trees on the wall.He lives in a hotel in Meihua Village, Dongshan, Guangzhou.This is the former mansion of Chen Jitang, the king of Southern Guangdong. It is said that a well-known Fengshui master was invited to select a site for reconstruction.The compound surrounded by high walls of ivy is very quiet and pleasant.The main building where Chiang Kai-shek lived was a large bungalow, surrounded by several small bungalows, which were the residences of his entourage and attendants.Yesterday morning, it was here that Chiang Kai-shek got the news that Mao Zedong established the CCP regime in Beiping.Despite his frustration, he is unflappable and feels that this is "the thing to do."For the past two days, he has been mostly silent.There was nothing too urgent, and the secretary and attendants didn't bother him, knowing that he was sad. However, on October 2nd, there were two things that had to be reported to him.First, the Soviet Union officially recognized the CCP regime in Beijing and announced the recall of its former ambassador to the Republic of China, Luo Shen, from Guangzhou.Chiang Kai-shek also believed that this "is actually an established thing, and it is an inevitable thing."He was deeply worried that Stalin and Mao Zedong would definitely enter into a military alliance, and the Soviet Union would assist the CCP in building an air force and navy, which would make the KMT's situation even more difficult. Second, Tang Enbo sent a telegram from Xiamen to Guangzhou, claiming that Li Zongren's public statement against Tang's assuming the chairmanship of Fujian Province would make him lose prestige and be unable to command his subordinates, so he could no longer be stationed in Xiamen to fight.Chiang Kai-shek felt that at this time Xiamen was surrounded by the communist army on three sides and was in danger. If the generals were changed at this time, how could Xiamen be defended?If Xiamen and Kinmen are lost, Taiwan will also be in a hurry.He felt that this fact should not be neglected, so he hurriedly called Tang Enbo to comfort him, asking him to stick to Xiamen, not to say goodbye, so that he could continue to fight.He decided to leave early the next morning (October 3) for Taipei, and then transfer to Xiamen to see Tang Enbo face-to-face to comfort him. The turmoil of Tang Enbo's resignation was caused by this. On July 26th, Li Zongren flew to Fuzhou for an inspection tour. Zhu Shaoliang, the chairman of Fujian Province, gave him a very good reception.This of course made Chiang Kai-shek unhappy, and the last time Chiang went to Fuzhou, he learned that Zhu Shaoliang had disobeyed Jiang Yang, was weak in resisting the Communist Party, and was influenced by local forces in Fujian; thus, Chiang made up his mind to change horses.In mid-August, before the People's Liberation Army captured Fuzhou, Tang Enbo suddenly flew to Fuzhou under the orders of Chiang Kai-shek, called Zhu Shaoliang at the airport, and asked Zhu to come to the airport to discuss important matters.Zhu Shaoliang immediately rushed to the airport to meet.Tang Enbo didn't even say much, and took out Chiang Kai-shek's warrant, which stated that Zhu had been dismissed and replaced by Tang.Zhu Shaoliang received the warrant and read it in shock, claiming to go back to the provincial government with Tang immediately to handle the handover.Tang said no need, and urged Zhu to board the plane and fly to Taiwan immediately, just like kidnapping a ticket.Tang Enbo became the new chairman of Fujian Province.Li Zongren didn't know that Fujian Province had changed its chairman until a staff member of the Fujian Provincial Government resigned and came to Guangzhou.Li Zongren thought, "Mr. Jiang is just a commoner in front of the constitution today. How can it be decent to replace the big officials in Xinjiang with a commoner?" As the acting president, Li Zongren publicly stated his disapproval.After Tang Enbo learned about it, he called Jiang to resign. Chiang Kai-shek took Chiang Ching-kuo with him and left Guangzhou by plane at 6:00 am on October 3.At ten o'clock in the morning, we landed at Taipei Songshan Airport.Less than half an hour after the plane landed, a strong typhoon landed and hit Taiwan Island.Chiang Kai-shek could not go to Xiamen immediately.Two days later, the typhoon subsided, and Chiang Kai-shek boarded the ship "Hua Lian" at Keelung Port to go to Xiamen.It was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and before sailing, he summoned Jiang's family members in Taiwan to celebrate the holiday on the "Hualian" ship. The "Hualian" ship set sail at 2:00 p.m., and the Chiang family had a meal together on the ship at noon when the sun was shining.After eating, his wife and children disembarked and went ashore, and Chiang Kai-shek sailed to Xiamen accompanied by Chiang Ching-kuo.When the boat crossed the Taiwan Strait, the bright moon was hanging above the water and the sky. Jiang's father and son watched the moon sadly and sadly on the boat.Chiang Ching-kuo wrote in his diary—— Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. If it is a peaceful and prosperous age, people will share the happiness of their family in their homes.In today's chaotic and dangerous times, there is no such pure happiness.My mother is engaged in national diplomacy in the United States and has not yet returned to China. I took my wife to Keelung by car and boarded the "Hualian" ship to accompany my father for the holiday.At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, I also left my wife and children and went to Xia alone with my father.The purpose of my father's trip was to resolve the issue of the appointment of General Tang Enbo, give him congratulations, and deploy the military in Fujian and Xiamen.Watching the moon on the boat at night, thinking of my father as the leader of the whole people, he is so busy in the world, he has no time to keep warm, eats unwillingly, and cannot rest at home on important festivals, while ordinary people are still drunk, fighting for power and profit, which is lamentable. At 10:30 a.m. the next day, the ship "Hualian" arrived in Xiamen, and the rumble of mainland guns was already heard at the port.The port is less than nine kilometers away from the Communist Army Ke.At 4:00 p.m., accompanied by Tang Enbo, Chiang Kai-shek landed, and at Tang Enbo's residence, he summoned officials above the group leader to give lectures. He returned to the ship at 8:00 p.m., said goodbye to Tang Enbo, and asked him to continue fighting and repel the Communist army. , let’s talk about other things.” The "Hualian" ship left Xiamen Port that night.On this day, he got the news on the ship: Shaoguan had fallen again, and Bai Chongxi's troops had all retreated to Guangxi.