Chapter 27 Chapter 26 When Kinmen was blocked by the three armed forces and it was within easy reach, Mao Zedong stopped the bombardment, causing great confusion at home and abroad

When Kinmen was sealed off by the armed forces of the sea, land and air, Mao Zedong's decision to stop the bombardment caused great confusion at home and abroad. (Beidaihe-Xiamen Front, August 20-September 3, 1958) Due to the influence of land and sea breezes, Beidaihe has no severe summer heat, and the average daily temperature in midsummer is only 23 degrees.The long and tortuous coast connected by hills and ridges is warm and humid, cool and pleasant, especially suitable for summer vacation.Since Emperor Guangxu took a fancy to it and officially turned it into a summer resort in 1898, its reputation has gradually increased.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Beidaihe became more famous both at home and abroad, not only because the people's government invested in the construction of urban roads around the sea, sanatoriums and restoration of seaside parks, making it a summer resort and attracting tourists of all levels from home and abroad; What's more, many important decision-making meetings of the ruling Chinese Communist Party are held in buildings or villas hidden among trees, so almost all foreign observers and reporters stationed in Beijing understand this rule. If a major leader does not appear in the newspaper, nine out of ten he will go to Beidaihe to hold an important meeting.

In the hot and overheated summer of 1958, after August 17, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held an enlarged meeting in Beidaihe.At the meeting, Mao Zedong proposed to double the amount of food next year; he also proposed that 10.7 million tons of steel should not be less than one ton, and if it is less, it will be a failure.Decision makers eager to change China's backwardness have made some decisions, ignoring the laws of economic construction itself, and trying to use the passion and organizational forms of the past revolutionary wars to mobilize the whole people to "build big iron and steel", " A series of "big operations" were carried out to promote the Great Leap Forward of economic construction, surpassing Britain and catching up with the United States as soon as possible, resulting in a serious imbalance in the proportion of the national economy and causing major setbacks and losses in socialist economic construction.Of course, mistakes in this exploration and advancement have cost the country a heavy price.

However, just after this enlarged meeting of the Politburo, Mao Zedong stayed in his villa in Beidaihe and personally directed the large-scale bombardment of Jinmen. It was a unique operation in the history of world wars. In the political and diplomatic contest of the Taiwan Strait crisis, fruitful results have been obtained.It marks that the Chinese leaders have finally completed the transition from a partial military struggle to a comprehensive political, military, and psychological struggle on the Taiwan issue, and formed a complete policy on Taiwan and the coastal islands.That is to say, leave Kinmen and Matsu in the hands of the Taiwan authorities as a link between the mainland and Taiwan, so as to oppose any attempt by the United States to block the straits, isolate Taiwan, and create "two Chinas." American struggle.

In the face of the unforgettable 1958, which has long passed, it is also one-sided to only talk about the mistakes of the Great Leap Forward and ignore Mao Zedong's far-sighted decision to maintain China's territorial integrity and national dignity during the Taiwan Strait crisis. He is waiting for Ye Fei.Evening on August 20th. He stood on the bank of Beidai River and looked at the sea.It was difficult for him to calm down because of his high concentration.He became excited, but he couldn't sleep well even if he took more sleeping pills.The ancients had a sentence in Beidaihe, "Looking at Jieshi to the east, looking at the sea", he said "Looking at Jieshi to the east, thinking of the Golden Gate" at this time!

After the enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, which decided to establish people's communes and establish a large-scale militia, some Politburo members and heads of provinces and cities have left.Mao Zedong stayed, and the issue of the military struggle in the Taiwan Strait has been hanging in his mind for a long time, and he has been thinking about it repeatedly. The U.S. Seventh Fleet has blatantly stationed in the Taiwan Strait and will not leave there. We do not have strong naval and air forces, so there is nothing we can do about it.Imperialism bullies us so much, we must deal with it seriously.The main task of new China is to carry out economic construction in order to change the appearance of poverty and backwardness.The main purpose of the PLA's limited military operations in coastal areas is to punish the Kuomintang troops for sabotage and harassment, and to show its firm opposition to the US invasion of Taiwan and the splitting of China. It has never intended to trigger a full-scale war between China and the US.After the liberation of the coastal islands in eastern Zhejiang, this goal was basically achieved, and Mao Zedong decided to take timely measures to ease the tension.At the same time as the Sino-US ambassadorial talks started, he had new considerations on the way to solve the Taiwan issue.

Taking into account the current situation in Taiwan and the actual interests of the KMT authorities, and proceeding from the righteousness of the nation, he re-proposed the negotiation between the KMT and the CCP in order to achieve the goal of peaceful reunification of the motherland.He is also aware that the United States is always trying to separate Taiwan into a separate political entity. "Taiwan independence" elements have been secretly supported by the United States.The United States has also repeatedly instigated forces within the Kuomintang in an attempt to overthrow Chiang Kai-shek and establish a regime that is completely at the mercy of the United States.Therefore, he timely emphasized that the Taiwan issue should be resolved peacefully by the Chinese themselves, also in order to break the American plot to create "two Chinas" or "Taiwan independence."Chiang Kai-shek rejected peace negotiations, but he still insisted on the position of only one China, which he appreciated.However, Chiang Kai-shek refused to give up the slogan of "counterattacking the mainland", and continued to harass, dispatch spies, and even send the air force to attack ground targets in Fujian. Therefore, while he continued to propose a peaceful solution to the Taiwan issue, he still deployed and planned military measures against Kinmen. action.In the spring of 1958, Ye Fei, the commander of the Fujian Military Region, drew up a plan to shell and block Kinmen, so that the central government could wait for a favorable time to implement it.

Just in the early summer of 1958, the Lebanese people revolted, triggering events in the Middle East.The United States and the United Kingdom were worried that their own interests would be damaged, so they sent troops to the Middle East in mid-July to intervene in the internal affairs of Arab countries by force.At that time, the Soviet Union and other Eastern European countries issued a solemn statement protesting that the United States and Britain interfered in the internal affairs of other countries.On July 16, the Chinese government issued a statement calling for the withdrawal of US troops from Lebanon.

He couldn't sleep for several days, and finally made a decision to launch a large-scale bombardment of Kinmen, so as to contain the U.S. military and support the struggle of the Arab people; at the same time, he could punish the Kuomintang army and find out the strategic intention of the U.S. towards the new China. In particular, what is the basis of the "Mutual Defense Treaty" signed by the United States and Taiwan.This strategic mapping can be done through limited military action. On July 16, after he issued the order to prepare to shell Kinmen and the air force to enter Fujian, the Air Force immediately acted and decided that the first batch of five divisions that had been tested in the modern air combat on the Korean battlefield would be transferred to Fujian and strive to fight against the enemy. Good first battle.And with Nie Fengzhi as the commander, the Fuzhou Air Force Command was formed to command operations.Considering the existence of the US navy and air force in the Taiwan Strait, he asked the Central Military Commission to set disciplines for air combat, requiring that they not enter the high seas to fight; US aircraft are not allowed to actively attack the mainland unless they enter the airspace of the mainland.The pilots of the People's Air Force fought very bravely.Zhou Chunfu, a pilot of the 16th Division of the Air Force, was driving a MiG-17 fighter plane. Under the unfavorable conditions of flying at a lower altitude than the opponent, he rushed into the enemy's formation with a single plane, shot down two F-86 fighter jets of the Kuomintang Air Force, and injured one of them. shoot down.After Zhou Chunfu parachuted and fell into the sea, the ground immediately organized soldiers and civilians to teach at sea.He has been paying attention to the progress of the air battle. After hearing the news, he asked his secretary to call the Fuzhou Military Region to rescue the pilot who fell into the water.After repeated searches by more than 1,800 fishing boats in Pingtan County by naval gunboats, they have not been found.The Air Force entered Fujian for 20 days. After several air battles, it showed its strength. It shot down four Kuomintang army planes, injured five planes, and was shot down by itself.Since then, the air superiority over Fujian has been controlled by the People's Liberation Army Air Force.He heard that the people in Fujian cheered for this: "The top of our heads is really liberated!" He was very happy.

With air cover in Fujian, the ground artillery units safely and smoothly completed the covert assembly without being attacked by the air, and the 32 artillery battalions arrived at the designated positions on time.The troops marched hard under the harsh weather conditions of the typhoon and the storm without being discovered by the Kuomintang army.Also rushed to repair all kinds of emergency military roads on the front line, criss-crossing and dense like a spider's web, creating conditions for large-scale bombardment.At the end of July, he also received a report that a brigade of torpedo boats under the command of General Tao Yong of the East China Sea Fleet secretly took a train from Shanghai to Xiamen, sailed by land, and arrived in Fujian smoothly, evading the detection of the Kuomintang army and intelligence agencies.

At the end of July, after the troops participating in the war were assembled, they reported to Mao Zedong and the Military Commission that they were in high spirits and only waited for the Military Commission to order the attack. Considering that the situation in the Middle East had eased at that time, he decided to postpone the shelling of Jinmen.After mid-August, the US and British troops have begun to withdraw their troops in accordance with the resolution of the UN General Assembly. On August 20, after deliberation in Beidaihe, he finally made a final decision: bombard Kinmen immediately.This has been mainly due to the needs of domestic political struggle, economic construction and the consideration of the relationship between China and the United States.On the same day, he asked Wang Shangrong, chief of operations of the General Staff, to immediately notify Ye Fei to come to Beidaihe to report.That night, when he talked to Lin Biao and Peng Dehuai about the operational policy of bombarding Kinmen, he said: "We will immediately concentrate our forces, deal a sudden and violent attack on the Kinmen Kuomintang army, and block it. After a period of time, the other party may withdraw from Kinmen and Matsu, or it will be difficult." We still have to struggle when we are very big, and whether to consider landing operations at that time depends on the situation, take one step and watch one step." Mao Zedong eagerly waited for Ye Fei to arrive.He finally got a report that after taking off from Fuzhou at noon, Ye Fei encountered a thunderstorm in Xuzhou, so he detoured to Kaifeng. Unexpectedly, the north and west of Kaifeng were also minefields, so the plane had to land in Kaifeng and stayed in Kaifeng that night. Ye Fei continued to fly from Kaifeng on the morning of the 21st of the lunar month, and arrived at Beidaihe at noon.After lunch, I just settled down and immediately went to meet Mao Zedong.Ye Fei made the following description—— I know it's up to me to take orders.As soon as I met the chairman, I reported in detail the preparations for the bombardment of Kinmen, the number and deployment of artillery, and the method of carrying out the surprise attack, all of which were reported one by one.Boss Peng and Lin Biao also participated, and Wang Shangrong, chief of operations of the General Staff, was also present.The map was not hung on the wall, but spread out on the carpet.Chairman Mao listened to my report and looked at the map at the same time, his energy was very concentrated.After the report was over, he suddenly asked such a question: "Will you kill the Americans with so many shells?" At that time, American advisers were deployed to the battalion level of the Kuomintang troops.As soon as the chairman asked, I replied: "Oh, that is possible!" Hearing what I said, the chairman thought about it for more than ten minutes, and then asked: "Can we avoid not hitting the Americans?" I replied Very simply: "Chairman, that's unavoidable!" After hearing this, the chairman didn't ask any other questions or give any instructions, and announced a break.This is a matter for the Chairman to consider further. After dinner, Comrade Wang Shangrong gave me a note, which was written by Lin Biao to the chairman.Lin Biao was very good at figuring out the chairman's intentions. He knew that the chairman was paying attention to avoiding the issue of hitting Americans, so he wrote this note.The content of the note was that he saw that the chairman attached great importance to this issue, so he asked whether he could disclose some information to the United States through Wang Bingnan (who was negotiating with the United States at the ambassadorial level in Warsaw).Lin Biao is also a bit baffled. Telling the Americans is equivalent to telling Taiwan. How can this work?I was surprised when I saw the note, so I asked Comrade Wang Shangrong: "The chairman gave me this letter, do you have any explanation? Do you want me to express my opinion?" Look." This was a matter of supreme decision-making, and since I wasn't asked to take a stand, I didn't say a word. The next day, the meeting continued. The chairman made up his mind, and it seemed that he ignored Lin Biao's suggestion.The chairman said: "Okay, fight according to your plan." He also asked me to stay in Beidaihe to command and live with Boss Peng. On the morning of August 22, Mao Zedong decided to bombard Kinmen the next day.The dedicated line directly to the front line in Fujian was set up in the room where Ye Fei lived in Beidaihe, and then forwarded to Mao Zedong. The "August 23" bombardment of Kinmen was directed from Beidaihe, a summer resort.It can also be said that it was directly commanded by Mao Zedong. The bombardment started at 5:30 pm on "August 23".According to the memories of Lei Yingfu, the former deputy director of the General Staff's Operations Department, it was not until the afternoon of August 23, when Mao Zedong summoned Huang Kecheng, Wang Shangrong, and Lei Yingfu himself, that the shelling according to the scheduled plan was finally confirmed. On the evening of August 21, 1950, the thirty-six artillery battalions of the People's Liberation Army who were scheduled to participate in the bombardment of Kinmen, together with the six coastal artillery companies of the Navy, successively entered the firing positions in concealment.By dawn on the 23rd, preparations for shooting were completed.At the same time, the anti-aircraft artillery units responsible for the air-to-air cover task of the two artillery groups of Xiamen and Lianhe also entered their positions. In order to ensure the suddenness of the first shelling, the front-line command not only required concealed entry, but also controlled the coast, and fishing boats were allowed to enter the shore and not to leave, so as not to leak information.It is stipulated that all artillerymen are not allowed to test fire in advance, but use the precise method to determine the shooting elements and arrange carefully so that the first batch of shells of each artillery group will fall to the established target at the same time. If it is said that during the first attack on Kinmen in October 1949, the artillery of the People's Liberation Army covering the wooden convoy crossing the sea was only more than 80 105mm howitzers and 75mm mountain guns. It's not what it used to be!The backbone artillery group is the Soviet-made 152mm and 122mm howitzers; there are also some American-made 155mm and 105mm howitzers captured during the War of Liberation, and Japanese-made 150mm howitzers. Ten mm howitzer.A total of four hundred and fifty-nine gates were reached.It was a relatively large artillery battle in the history of PLA artillery battles. In terms of scale, it can be compared with the artillery battles in the capture of Jinzhou, the Battle of Shangganling in North Korea, and the Jincheng Counterattack.Some of the old American-made and Japanese-made artillery used in it had been planned to be eliminated. This time, the old artillery and the ammunition in its inventory were planned to be used up by this bombardment.Judging from the comparison of the strength of the artillery of the two sides, most of the artillery of the People's Liberation Army have been trained in the fierce artillery battles to resist US aggression and aid Korea, and their combat experience is better than that of the other side.However, in terms of the quality of the artillery, the Kuomintang artillery has a slight advantage. It uses the American-made 155mm howitzer as the backbone, and there are also some 105mm howitzers and 75mm mountain guns. The fire organization is relatively strict; However, due to the blockade of the transportation line and the shortage of ammunition, it is not easy to replenish the artillery damaged in the battle. The longer the battle lasts, the more absolutely inferior it will be in terms of firepower.According to the actual situation in the theater, without the intervention of the U.S. navy and air force, it is entirely possible for the People's Liberation Army to block Kinmen with the cooperation of the land, sea, and air forces. On August 23rd, Saturday, around 5 p.m. that day, the Kuomintang Army Defense Command at North Taiwu Mountain in Kinmen was convening officers and soldiers to hold a weekend dinner while listening to Minister of National Defense Yu Dawei's lecture.The setting sun has been slanting towards the west towards the mainland, and it will be a bit dazzling when looking west from Taiwu Mountain in Kinmen.The sea was calm.After the dinner, the officers and soldiers were walking away.They were completely unaware of the sudden shelling by the People's Liberation Army. At 5:30 in the afternoon, the front-line commander of the Fuzhou Military Region issued the order to "start shelling". As a series of red signal flares rose around Kinmen Island, from the Xiamen Artillery Group in the west, the Lianhe Artillery Group in the north, and the Weitou Artillery Group in the northeast, , There was a deafening artillery sound, and more than 2,600 shells fell from different directions on the Kuomintang army position on Taiwu Mountain in the north of Kinmen.In an instant, the mountains shook and the ground shook, and Kinmen Island was immediately engulfed in flames and smoke.Kinmen Defense Commander Hu Lian was walking back to the headquarters with Yu Dawei, who had finished his speech. Three deputy commanders, Zhao Jiaxiang, Ji Xingwen, and Zhang Jie, stood on the bridge between Cuihu Lake and the shore to chat.According to an article written by eyewitness Liu Yifu describing the scene at that time—— Suddenly there was a hissing sound, passing over the top of Taiwu Mountain, and galloping down the Cuihu Lake, followed by the continuous explosion sound of the mountain shaking and the ground shaking. The small bridge was broken, countless shell craters appeared on the road, many broken trees were flying in the air, stone chips, mud, vegetation, mixed in the continuous explosion and shrapnel flying and lasing... When the shell exploded, Yu Dawei was carried by a nearby section chief named Liao Guanghua into the side of the road to escape under the rocks.Hu Lian ran away and returned to the headquarters by luck.Three deputy commanders, Zhao Jiaxiang, Ji Xingwen, and Zhang Jie, were chatting at the bridgehead.Killed when the first group of shells exploded on impact.Zhao Jiaxiang served as the chief of staff of the Northeast "Suppression General" of the Kuomintang Army, an old opponent of the People's Liberation Army, and a senior official who escaped in the Liaoshen Campaign.Zhang Jie is an air force general who once served as the deputy chief of staff of Taiwan's air force and was in charge of time-space liaison in Kinmen.Ji Xingwen is an old officer of the Northwest Army. During the "July 7th Incident", he served as the regiment commander on duty at Lugou Bridge. The PLA's first bombardment had the effect of a surprise attack.The officers and soldiers of the Kuomintang army on the island were unsuspecting. Many people were enjoying the cool air behind the beach after dinner, and fled into the shelter in a hurry amidst the sound of explosions.The "Zhongzi" landing craft and the Taisheng steamship anchored in Liuluo Bay were hit by shells and paralyzed.The wired communication network on the island was completely destroyed by artillery fire.Hu Lian ran back to the headquarters, immediately picked up the phone and ordered the artillery commander to fight back in an all-round way, but the phone was no longer connected.He picked up multiple telephones and called the artillery positions, but none of them had a voice.He was very remorseful. Twenty minutes later, the artillerymen of the Kuomintang army spontaneously returned fire, firing more than 2,000 shells, which were quickly suppressed by the artillery fire of the People's Liberation Army.The first artillery battle lasted eighty-five minutes.The People's Liberation Army fired more than 30,000 rounds of artillery shells (of which coastal artillery fired 2,600 rounds).Kinmen later admitted that there were 600 casualties. The "August 23" bombardment shocked Taiwan very much.Cities such as Taipei implemented emergency air defense measures, and some departments were evacuated.Chiang Kai-shek couldn't figure out Mao Zedong's intentions for a while, and estimated that the People's Liberation Army would land in Kinmen and might attack Taiwan.Chiang Kai-shek also urgently asked Eisenhower for help, claiming that the situation in Kinmen was critical and that three deputy commanders had been killed, and asked the US military to quickly help defend Kinmen. According to Eisenhower's order, the main force of the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet, including four aircraft carriers, sailed to the Taiwan Strait.Another aircraft carrier is being quickly transferred from the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean.There are five aircraft carriers in the small Taiwan Strait. Kinmen Island suddenly became the focus of world public opinion. Ye Fei was on his way again. After the Kinmen artillery battle started, the first shelling was successful.Mao Zedong agreed with him to rush back from Beidaihe to the front line of Fujian to command.The flight to the south went smoothly this time without encountering thunderstorms or typhoons.After the plane landed, he was extremely anxious to rush to the frontline command post on Xiamen Island. His mood was in a peculiar state of excitement.As the commander of the Tenth Corps who failed in the first attack on Kinmen nine years ago, he requested punishment and assumed responsibility. Although neither Mao Zedong nor Su Yu gave him punishment, Mao Zedong only said that it was mainly a matter of learning lessons.Over the years, especially after the friendly forces liberated Hainan Island, he has longed for and requested the liberation of Kinmen many times, and has made many preparations for this. Capture of Kinmen has always been his great wish.Often sleepless nights because of this.This large-scale bombardment of Kinmen even brought in tank troops.It was the first time that ordinary people saw PLA tanks and so many heavy cannons rumbling from Fuzhou to Xiamen, shaking even the streets.The common people were very happy, and there was a lot of discussion. They all speculated that not only Kinmen should be attacked, but Taiwan should also be attacked. Ye Fei also felt that Jinmen could be liberated.In the past few days in Beidaihe, Mao Zedong was very happy with the successful shelling for the first time. According to the guards, he slept very peacefully.Ye Fei couldn't help asking Peng Dehuai: "Boss, has the chairman decided to attack Jinmen?" Peng Dehuai said with a smile: "I'm in a hurry! Want to go to Kinmen Island? Didn't I tell you a long time ago, the chairman said, first block Kinmen, and whether to consider going to the island to fight depends on the situation. Take a step and see." Fight for three days first, take the first step, and then decide on the next step after seeing the developments of the Taiwan authorities. Hurry up and go back and shoot, even my hands are itchy. If you don’t leave, I will be there first! Haha!" Ye Fei finally drove to Xiamen Island to face Yunding Rock in Jinmen.The frontline headquarters is located here.Yunding Rock is on the west side of Kinmen Island. In the morning, the sun is dazzling and difficult to observe. In the afternoon, with the back of the sun, you can see the big and small Kinmen Islands clearly. Ye Fei observed Jinmen Island through a high-magnification telescope.At this time, there was a gap in the bombardment, and it could be seen that several shells fell on the North Taiwu Mountain and exploded, emitting gunpowder smoke.The gazebos and small bridges in the south of Taiwu Mountain have collapsed.The craters on the road can also be seen clearly.And bombed houses.Kinmen is always in sight. Dajinmen is only 120 square kilometers, and Xiaohemen is only 10 square kilometers.Chiang Kai-shek deployed heavy troops on the island, and built a large number of tunnels and reinforced concrete permanent fortifications on the island in preparation for long-term defense.There are more than 80,000 defenders and more than 50,000 residents on the island, and their basic food, clothing and supplies must be shipped from Taiwan.The average daily transportation volume is more than 400 tons in order to maintain the basic life and minimum combat needs of the defenders.It mainly depends on the sea transportation from Liuluo Bay, which faces the mainland in the south of Kinmen Island.Two airports have also been built on the island, which can land large transport aircraft. When Ye Fei returned to the front line in Xiamen at the end of August, the Central Military Commission added the Second and Sixth Artillery Divisions to join the battle in Fujian to strengthen their firepower.In order to accurately attack the Kuomintang warships sailing into Liuluo Bay at night, a searchlight platoon was dispatched from the Air Force to illuminate the sea surface off the coast of Kinmen every ten to fifteen minutes, allowing the artillery to find shooting targets according to the lights. . In the initial stage, the artillery of the Kuomintang army took the initiative to fight back after the artillery bombardment of the People's Liberation Army, especially choosing to attack the artillery positions of the People's Liberation Army in the afternoon and evening, and they were hit harder.Kinmen Island is very small, and most of the artillery positions on the island are fixed, making it inconvenient to move the artillery. Some positions with poor concealment were destroyed by the continuous shelling of the People's Liberation Army.After the blockade was tightened, it became increasingly difficult for the Kuomintang defenders to supply ammunition. Large-scale charges were required for long-distance artillery shooting, which seriously damaged the barrel of the gun; one artillery was damaged and one less.Entering September, after being shelled on Kinmen Island, it is not easy to return fire, but occasionally fire some irregular scattered artillery, which shows that they have paid great attention to saving ammunition. Ye Fei observes Kinmen Island here almost every year, and is very familiar with the situation of the two sides.Although the Kinmen artillery battle quickly became an overwhelming situation, it has not yet reached the level of annihilation of the artillery guarding the island.Because most of the defenders' positions are built in concealed areas on the mainland that cannot be observed visually, and the PLA artillery fires from a distance across the sea, and according to the regulations of the Military Commission, it is not allowed to send planes to the sky over Jinmen to correct the impact point. There are not many hits, and generally they can only be suppressed but difficult to destroy.To achieve the complete destruction of the artillery positions on Kinmen Island, the air force needs to be dispatched to carry out bombing. At the end of August, General Han Xianchu, commander of the Fuzhou Military Region, accompanied Liu Yalou, commander of the Air Force of the Military Commission, and Chen Xilian, commander of the artillery, to Xiamen for inspection.After Han Xianchu went to Xiamen to understand the battle situation, he said to Ye Fei: "This time, while Commander Yalou is here, do we propose to use the air force to bomb Jinmen, and the artillery cooperates to give Hu Lian's artillery a devastating blow?" Ye Fei did not agree because he had just returned from Mao Zedong's side in Beidaihe and knew Mao Zedong's intentions.Ye Fei said: "We must carefully consider the deployment of the air force to bomb Kinmen. At present, Chairman Mao has not given instructions to land and liberate Kinmen immediately. The original plan for bombarding Kinmen did not involve the use of air force bombing. There is no need to use the air force for bombing. Especially when using bombers and fighter jets as cover, it is difficult for such an air force formation to avoid conflict with the U.S. Air Force when fighting in the sky over Kinmen." In order to respect Han Xianchu's opinion, Ye Fei obtained Han's consent and reported their opinions to the Military Commission and Mao Zedong at the same time.Mao Zedong was still in Beidaihe at that time. The next day, Yu Shangrong, Chief of Operations of the General Staff, called Ye Fei and replied, "I have received the telegram and sent it to Chairman Mao. The Chairman agrees with your opinion." On the night of September 1, a Kuomintang army transport formation composed of four warships sailed into the waters of Kinmen.The escort boats of the People's Liberation Army covered the attack of the torpedo boat team. After a fierce battle, the Tuojiang ship of the Kuomintang Navy was severely damaged and sank. The People's Liberation Army lost two torpedo boats. The sea supply operation suffered a failure. The People's Liberation Army Air Force sent planes to reconnaissance over the side of Jinmen, took photos, and asked the artillery to combine the photo materials to determine the shooting coordinates on the map, and successfully carried out the bombing of the airport runway, preventing the landing of the planes from Taiwan, and forced the suspension of the landing supply. . From September 3rd, the Kinmen defenders could only rely on airdrops from Taiwan for supplies.However, airdrop planes dare not fly low for fear of artillery fire, and Kinmen Island is dumbbell-shaped with a narrow and long island, which makes it easy for high-altitude projectiles to fall into the sea. If they fall on the beach and open land facing the mainland, they will also be destroyed by PLA artillery.Therefore, the airdrop success rate is very low. The defenders on Kinmen Island hid underground and lived on reserves, and their situation became increasingly difficult.Liu Yifu, a war correspondent from Taiwan's Central News Agency, ventured to Kinmen Island. The few bottles of wine and moon cakes he brought with him have become the treasures of the island's senior generals. Ye Fei looked at the blocked Kinmen Island from the frontline command post at Yundingyan. After ten days of blockade operations, the first step of the combat objective had been basically achieved. As the frontline commander, he always thought that the next step was to land and liberate Kinmen.Ye Fei later wrote in his memoirs: "If our army launches a landing at this time, Jinmen will be at your fingertips. Therefore, those of us on the Fujian front are anxiously waiting for Chairman Mao's order. We can't figure out what Chairman Mao's next intention is?" However, contrary to the expectations of all parties, Mao Zedong made a decision to stop the shelling, not wanting Jinmen, which was about to be acquired.At that time, it puzzled people at home and abroad.