After leaving the Tomb of Marquis Wu, we took the main road from Xi'an to Hanzhong, passing through the basin and becoming more hilly, and the terrain became higher as we went north. It was already night when we arrived at Liuba Wuguan Station.
Seeing that they would soon have to cross the mountains, Liu Yimin ordered the troops to camp and turn on the radio to contact the divisions.
The 11th Division reported that it had occupied Mei County at 10 p.m., and the two enemy regiments in the Qinling Mountains had been wiped out, and Zhouzhi would be captured tomorrow.
Liu Yimin ordered the troops in Gaoyuan and Huangsu not to stay after occupying Zhouzhi. They must overcome fatigue, take a short rest, and set off immediately. Don't worry about the enemies along the way. The entire division has one goal: to attack Xi'an! Before the enemy can react, they must attack with a small force.
Capture Xi'an at a cost to avoid destruction when the defenders escape. After occupying Xi'an, rest for a day and leave a small force to guard Xi'an. The main force immediately marches to Weinan and controls Tongguan. The troops celebrate the New Year in Weinan and rest.
The 12th Division and the 13th Division reported that they have arrived in Hanzhong.
Liu Yimin ordered the 13th Division to capture Baoji and surrounding counties and celebrate the New Year in Baoji. The 12th Division accelerated its pace, crossed the Qinling Mountains, and directly captured Xianyang. The troops deployed in Xianyang and rested on the spot to celebrate the New Year.
After issuing orders to each division, Liu Yimin and Luo Ronghuan discussed it and decided to form the second echelon to reinforce Xi'an with the cavalry regiment, guard regiment, artillery regiment, heavy machine gun regiment, and engineering regiment. It will be led by Liu Yimin and Cai Zhong and set off early tomorrow morning.
Crossing the Qinling Mountains, we quickly headed towards Xi'an. Luo Ronghuan and Wu Zheng led the heavy baggage regiment, and the new corps arrived shortly afterwards to escort the supplies.
Calling several regiment commanders of the second echelon, Liu Yimin said directly to them: "I know the troops are very tired, but we are competing with the enemy for time and have to shorten the camping time. The troops will rest here for 4 hours, and then go to
Advance to Xi'an and reinforce the 11th Division. After occupying Xi'an, you can rest. How about it? Is it possible?"
Hu Laohu, whose eyes were already red, said: "The troops are really tired. They marched continuously from Guangyuan to Tongjiang and back again, and the horses were exhausted. However, as long as we can enter the city of Xi'an, it is worth the exhaustion."
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Liu Yimin shook his head: "I don't want you to die. I want you to deal with the Japanese cavalry in the future. You can control the marching speed for me. As long as you cross the Qinling Mountains and enter the Weihe Plain, take a short rest and the speed will increase."
Several other regiments had a short rest in Hanzhong, and their physical strength was still good. Several regiment leaders reported that there was no problem and they could continue marching.
Liu Yimin asked each regiment to go to Wu Zheng to ask for some wine to refresh the soldiers on the way and ward off the cold.
After the cadres left, Liu Yimin slept quickly to regain his strength.
That night, Zeng Zhongsheng, escorted by a company of cavalry, arrived in Guangyuan.
As soon as he saw Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Zhang Wentian and Chen Yun, Zeng Zhongsheng burst into tears like a child.
Zhou En came to see him crying sadly and advised him: "Comrade Zhongsheng, stop crying and tell us about the situation!"
Zeng Zhongsheng wiped his tears and said with choked sobs: "Vice Chairman Zhou, I almost missed you. Fortunately, Army Commander Liu left quickly. If he had arrived half an hour late, Zhang Guotao would have executed me. They arrived
After that, I asked the cavalry regiment to protect me. Commander Liu went to negotiate with Zhang Guotao. As a result, Zhou Chunquan and Huang Chao
Li Te led people from the Political Security Bureau to find me in the cavalry team and insisted on taking me away for further examination. Finally, the cavalry commander of the Seventh Army Corps threatened them that if they dared to pester the Chief of Staff of the Seventh Army Corps again, they would be punished.
I was arrested and taken back to the Seventh Legion for questioning, and then they let me go to find the legion commander." After saying that, he started crying again.
Zhou Enlai said: "Stop crying. You are a Huangpu student and have also studied at Sun Yat-sen University. A famous general in China, how can you be so fragile and cry even if you don't understand! Don't cry, tell us the situation!"
Mao Zedong interjected: "Comrade Zeng Zhongsheng, tell me, how did Liu Yimin persuade Zhang Guotao to release him?"
Zeng Zhongsheng wiped his tears again and said: "Report to Chairman Mao. I don't know the details. Commander Liu Army gave me a brief summary. He mainly emphasized three points. First, the Seventh Army currently has more than 40,000 troops and lacks cadres.
, requesting the Fourth Front Army to support cadres. The second is to review that I did not report to the Central Committee and report to the Central Committee.
If a cadre of my level is censored without reporting to the Central Committee, the Central Committee will be held accountable. Third, he asked to work in the Fourth Front Army and swap with Xu Qianqian or Chen Changhao, or to take over my chief of staff and let Zhang Guotao report important personnel to the Central Committee. If
It is not convenient for Zhang Guotao to report to the Central Committee, but he is willing to make requests to the Central Committee himself."
Boss Zhu laughed: "It turns out that Zhang Guotao is afraid that the central government will transfer Liu Yimin to the Fourth Front Army! This little guy Liu Yimin can really say anything."
Mr. Zhu's smile eased the heavy atmosphere a little, and Zhou Enlai asked Zeng Zhongsheng to report in detail on the situation in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area, the Fourth Front Army, and Zhang Guotao.
Zeng Zhongsheng started from the first counter-encirclement and suppression campaign in Hubei, Henan, and Anhui. He first reported on the construction of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area and the transfer of the breakout and creation of the Sichuan-Shaanxi base area, and then started to talk about Zhang Guotao
The practice and harm of suppressing counterrevolutionaries in Hubei, Henan and Anhui. After talking about the Baiqueyuan Massacre and Xu Jishen, Zhou Weijong, Xiong Shouxuan, Jiang Jingtang, Wang Peiwu, Chen Hanxiang, Wu Jingchi, Xiao Fang, Guan Shuyi, Pang
After the tragic deaths of Yong Jun, Cheng Shaoshan, Ke Boyuan, Wei Mengxian, Pan Guifu and others, Mao Zedong and others were in tears. Speaking of Zhang Guotao's methods of pouring pepper water, nailing bamboo sticks on his fingers, standing on fire bricks, binding and beating, etc., to force a confession,
When many people were biting each other, Zhou Enlai shouted "Zhang Guotao!" He slapped his left hand on the table and broke his little finger.
Mao Zedong asked Zeng Zhongsheng to suspend his report and called a doctor to bandage Vice Chairman Zhou.
After the doctor came to bandage, Mao Zedong asked Zhou Enlai to rest. Zhou Enlai endured the pain and said: "It's okay, let Comrade Zeng Zhongsheng continue to report."
Zhang Wentian said bitterly: "If you don't kill Zhang Guotao, you can't do anything to the martyrs!"
Mao Zedong lit a cigarette and said in a deep voice: "Comrade Zhongsheng, keep talking!"
The report lasted until dawn. Zeng Zhongsheng basically cried and talked, and Mao Zedong's cigarette butts were thrown on the floor. At the end of the report, Mr. Zhu told Zeng Zhongsheng not to rest and to catch up with the troops quickly. The war in Xi'an was urgent.
When Zeng Zhongsheng went out, Zhou Enlai told him not to see anyone, and not to tell anyone about his report to the Central Committee. He told the guards to keep it strictly confidential. He went straight back to the Seventh Army Corps without stopping. After returning, he formed a written
Report and wait for orders.
That night, the 17th Route Army headquarters far away in Wanyuan was also bustling with people.
Yang Hucheng, the commander-in-chief of the 17th Route Army, sat on a chair and said nothing. The officers around him were noisy and seemed to have nothing to do with him.
Yang Hucheng was a native of Pucheng, Shaanxi, born in 1893. He was historically positioned as an anti-Japanese patriotic general. Originally, in June 1933, Yang Hucheng had reached a non-aggression agreement with the Fourth Red Army. Unexpectedly, due to the arrival of Liu Yimin, the situation changed too much.
Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek strictly ordered him to lead the main force of the 17th Route Army southward to northern Sichuan to besiege the Red Army.
At this time, Yang Hucheng was calm on the outside, but he was already troubled on the inside. In fact, among the powerful factions in various places at that time, Yang Hucheng was relatively progressive. There were Communist Party members active in his troops, and he himself had repeatedly reported to Chiang Kai-shek
He proposed to stop suppressing the Communists and unite to fight against Japan. However, Chiang Kai-shek's order had to be implemented. This led the main force to go south, and Shaanxi's defense was extremely empty, allowing Liu Yimin to take advantage of the loophole.
Yang Hucheng's 17th Route Army is said to have two armies, but in fact each army has only one division. Among them, the 38th Army has only one 17th Division, with both its commander and division commander Sun Weiru, and the Seventh Army also has only one 42nd Division, with its commander and division commander.
They are all Feng Qinzai. There are also three security brigades, three Sui Department special agent regiments and a cavalry regiment.
When heading south to northern Sichuan, Yang Hucheng thought that fighting the Red Army was treacherous and gnawing hard bones. It would be impossible if the troops were too small, so he brought two main divisions, a cavalry regiment and a special agent regiment, a total of 17 regiments, to northern Sichuan, leaving only 11 regiments.
Regiments of security forces are stationed throughout Shaanxi.
Before going to bed tonight, Yang Hucheng called the Third Guard Brigade stationed in Hanzhong to inquire about the situation, but he couldn't be contacted. He also contacted the two security regiments of the Third Guard Brigade responsible for guarding Qinling, but still couldn't be contacted. Now, Yang Hucheng
I panicked and hurriedly contacted Xi'an, Xianyang, and Baoji. Fortunately, these three places reported that everything was normal. Is the purpose of the Red Army just to attack Hanzhong and control the Qinling Passage?
It is possible when you think about it. The Red Army may want to expand their Sichuan-Shaanxi base area and improve their defense. Controlling the Qinling Mountains can block the passage from Shaanxi to Sichuan and ensure the safety of Guangyuan and Mianyang.
He called Sun Weiru and Feng Qinzai for a discussion. Feng Qinzai immediately became angry. I was here to encircle and suppress the Red Army, but the Red Army went to his own back garden. Where is Hanzhong? It is a strategic location and granary. How could the Red Army be allowed to do so?
What about occupation? Feng Qinzai immediately proposed to withdraw his troops immediately and take back Hanzhong.
Sun Weiru also agreed with Feng Qinzai's opinion and suggested withdrawing troops to recapture Hanzhong.
Yang Hucheng thought, is this Red Army easy to fight? Since it dared to occupy Hanzhong, it must be waiting for him to save it. Didn't you see what happened to Hu Zongnan? Then Hu Zongnan's equipment is completely different from that of the 17th Route Army.
The Red Bandits even dared to deal with Hu Zongnan. Are they afraid of the 17th Route Army?
Sure enough, before the three people could discuss what to do, the forward troops reported that the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army launched an offensive and reconnaissance towards our defense line.
Yang Hucheng was born in the green forest and fought many small battles. After receiving the report, he immediately realized that the Red Army was preparing to attack him. Now it is the Red Fourth Front Army, and other units may soon join. If he does not make a decision early,
The trouble may be big. Don't besiege and suppress, and finally besiege and suppress yourself into a prisoner like Hu Zongnan.
Thinking of this, Yang Hucheng immediately ordered the brigade commanders to go to the headquarters for a meeting to study the combat plan. Unexpectedly, after the officers arrived, as soon as they heard that Hanzhong was lost, the Red Army conducted an offensive reconnaissance towards its front line, and suddenly it exploded.
Some people say that a counterattack should be launched to dissuade the Red Army from attacking.
Those who should retreat and retake Hanzhong, some said that retaking Hanzhong would be easily ambushed by the enemy, and should retreat to Ankang, and the other one was the most desperate, demanding to retreat eastward to join Wang Lingji and Zhang Xueliang's troops. It was a mess, and it was a mess. Listen to
Yang Hucheng was upset, so he simply said nothing and let them go away.
Bad news came one after another, and this night was destined to be a sleepless night for the 17th Route Army. The surveillance post dispatched by the flank cover force reported that Red Army troops were found moving on the west side of Wanyuan. They could not see clearly at night, and the accent did not sound like they were from northern Sichuan.
Yang Hucheng couldn't sit still anymore. He stood up, walked to the map and looked at it in detail for a while, then turned around and shouted: "Stop arguing, listen to me!"
The officers fell silent as soon as the words were spoken, staring at the commander-in-chief, waiting for orders.
Yang Hucheng raised his voice: "Hanzhong has been lost and the Qinling defense line has been lost. Although there is no situation in Baoji, Xianyang, and Xi'an, it is difficult to predict what will happen tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. The main force of our army is all in northern Sichuan. If the Red Army
The main force of our army has gone deep into the hinterland of Shaanxi, and our remaining troops have no ability to hold on. Even if the main force of our army is all in the hinterland of Shaanxi, according to the method of garrisoning at points, it will still be defeated by the Red Army one by one. Shaanxi cannot be defended by us alone."
The officers were stunned. Now that it was said so clearly, what had they been doing?
How could Yang Hucheng bother to consider the thoughts of the officers? Then he added: "If the Red Army goes straight to Xi'an after taking the Qinling Mountains, by the time we rush back, I'm afraid the Red Army will have already dug a hole and are waiting to bury people.
Therefore, it is impossible to rashly capture Hanzhong or withdraw to Xi'an now.
OK. We can only find a place to avoid the Red Army's attack momentum and see how the situation changes. However, no matter how it changes, we can't leave Shaanxi. We are Shaanxi people. If we leave Shaanxi, we will lose our roots and become beggars.
, the fate of the Northeastern Army is our fate."
After a pause, and seeing that the officers listened very seriously this time, Yang Hucheng nodded happily and said: "We tens of thousands of people need to eat and drink. The place is too small to accommodate it, and the place is too big to hold it. Therefore.
, I want to retreat to Ankang. If the Red Army no longer attacks, and there is no enemy situation in the Weihe Plain and Baoji, we will retreat to Xi'an and defend the 800-mile Qinchuan River. This Han
To neutralize Ankang, let the Red Army and Chairman Chiang fight for it. If the Weihe Plain and Baoji are lost, and the Red Army launches another attack, we will retreat to Shangluo. Once there, the terrain is prominent, and we will not be afraid no matter who comes to attack.
I think there is nothing that Chairman Chiang can do against the Red Army. Sooner or later he will have to sit down and negotiate. At that time, we will see how the situation changes and the opportunity is right to recapture Xi'an."
The officers did not expect that the usually silent commander-in-chief would have so many ideas in his mind. They were surprised and admired, and they all expressed their obedience to the order.
Seeing that the officers' minds were basically unified, Yang Hucheng ordered the 38th Army in the front and the 7th Army in the rear to abandon their positions and move to Ankang overnight.
After the officers dispersed, Yang Hucheng thought for a while and called an officer he knew to be a Communist and asked him to leave the army and contact the Red Army to reiterate the non-aggression agreement.
The officer said: "Commander, it's not that I don't want to go, the key point is that the 17th Route Army should not go south to encircle the Red Army. When the Red Army was in crisis, we came to attack them. Now Chiang Kai-shek has suffered a loss. We went to talk to them. I don't know.
They still ignored us."
Yang Hucheng said: "This is Chiang Kai-shek's trick. However, brother, you also know that we are weak and do not have the capital to confront Chiang Kai-shek. If we disobey orders, we may be punished by Chiang Kai-shek at any time. We must ask the Red Army for understanding."
I am not familiar with other Communists, but I am very familiar with Xuan Xiafu, and he is definitely a friend. You can go with confidence, I believe that the Communist Party will not kill everyone."
When the officer heard what Yang Hucheng said, he asked: "Commander-in-Chief, if you give me an accurate answer, how can we negotiate?"
Yang Hucheng thought for a while: "The Red Army will not cross the Qinling line, and our army will not attack the Red Army. Stop the civil war and unite to resist Japan. This is also their idea."
The officer asked again: "What if the Red Army has crossed the Qinling Mountains?"
Yang Hucheng was a little upset and waved his hand: "You can figure it out. If you can't handle it, report it to me."
The officer then saluted and went out.
When Yang Hucheng left the general headquarters, he saw that Wanyuan City was in chaos, with his own troops everywhere, retreating with torches.
Looking back at the small town of Wanyuan in the night, Yang Hucheng looked gloomy. This trip to northern Sichuan was a big loss. The Red Army didn't succeed, but it lost Hanzhong. Maybe it couldn't even save Qinchuan, which is 800 miles away.
, years of hard work were ruined in one moment. Forget it, leave quickly. If it's too late, when the main force of the Red Army comes up, I'm afraid it won't be so easy.
Just as he was about to leave on horseback, Feng Qinzai, commander of the Seventh Army, caught up and said: "Commander-in-Chief, can't we withdraw like this? Should we send a telegram to Chairman Chiang in Nanjing and report it?"
Yang Hucheng's eyes were bright under the torch, shining with a hint of stubbornness, and when he opened his mouth, he said, "What a fucking bastard!"
After saying that, he rode off to chase the team.
Feng Qinzai shook his head and chased after him on horseback.
Those conducting attack and reconnaissance at the forefront of the 17th Route Army's defense line were indeed troops of the Fourth Red Army. They had received orders from the Red Army headquarters to cooperate with the Third and Fifth Red Army Corps to attack the 17th Route Army. Therefore, Commander-in-Chief Xu Xiangqian formulated a careful plan and cooperated with
Peng Dehuai got in touch and planned for the Fourth Red Army to attack from the front and send another army to detour from the east side of Wanyuan; the Third and Fifth Red Army Corps would carry out flank attacks from the west side of Wanyuan in order to wipe out the 17th Route Army in one fell swoop.
This was originally a perfect plan. Once the troops launched an attack, the 17th Route Army would be unable to withdraw even if they wanted to, and the defense line would soon be torn apart. However, neither Xu Xiangqian nor Peng Dehuai expected that the powerful Yang Hucheng would suddenly and quickly
Retreat. Therefore, after receiving the report, Xu Xiangqian immediately ordered his troops to pursue.
Active on the west side of Wanyuan were the 3rd and 5th Red Army Corps, which had not fought a satisfying battle all the way. The cadres and soldiers were already screaming. Especially after knowing that the 7th Red Army Corps had wiped out the First Division, these old Red Army soldiers
I applauded on the lips, but I was really unconvinced in my heart.
They all secretly lamented their bad luck, why all the enemies they met ran away! Just when they were thinking about how to hand over more weapons and capture more prisoners after the battle started, they saw that the enemies suddenly withdrew. And they retreated quickly! How could this be possible!
How can you let a cooked duck fly?
Therefore, as soon as the pursuit order was given, the five main divisions rushed forward and soon stopped the three regiments of Liu Yanbiao's 126th Brigade of the 42nd Division and the 17th Route Army at the end. Not long after, the Fourth Front Army troops also came up.
, the two armies devoured Liu Yanbiao's troops completely.
Unfortunately, the result of the battle was only this little. Feng Qinzai, commander of the Seventh Army of the 17th Route Army and commander of the 42nd Division, who was retreating, saw the size and formation of the Red Army's attack force. How could he dare to send troops to rescue the 126th Brigade? He kept urging the troops to hurry up.
Withdraw, for fear that the Red Army would overtake us if we retreat too slowly.
The two large Red Army units met near Wanyuan.
The soldiers rushed together, shouting, and dancing. There were torches all over the mountains and fields, and the Red Army all over the mountains and fields. The night in Wanyuan became a sea of joy.
Peng Dehuai led Yang Shangkun, Deng Ping, Dong Zhentang, He Changgong, and Guo Tianmin to the small town of Wanyuan. The political commissar of the Fourth Front Army Chen Changhao and the commander-in-chief Xu Xiangqian greeted them at the city gate.
When they were 200 meters away, Mr. Peng jumped off his horse, shouted "Comrade forward" and ran over.
Xu Qianqian, who was usually stern and unsmiling, was also full of excitement. He shouted "Comrade Dehuai" and went to greet him. The two hugged each other tightly.
Later, people erected a stone monument at the entrance of Wanyuan Town, engraved with the meeting point of the two main forces of the Red Army. Some scholars pointed out that it was wrong to erect the monument in Wanyuan. In fact, a few days ago, Liu Yimin, commander of the Seventh Red Army Corps, led the cavalry regiment.
The reunion was achieved in Shahe Town. However, since none of the parties involved responded positively, the Shahe Town reunion was completely replaced by the Wanyuan reunion.
After receiving a telegram from Peng Dehuai that they had joined forces with the Fourth Front Army, that Yang Hucheng's troops were retreating towards Ankang, and that only one enemy brigade had been wiped out in the Battle of Wanyuan, the Red Army headquarters ordered the Red Army's 3rd and 5th Army Corps and the 4th Front Army to attack Liu Xiang eastward.
set
At the base of Tuanwangling, he sought to annihilate Zhang Xueliang's troops and completely repelled the enemy's siege on the Sichuan-Shaanxi base area. He also ordered five people, including Peng Dehuai, Xu Xiangqian, Yang Shangkun, Chen Changhao, and He Changgong, to form the East Sichuan Former Enemy Committee, with Peng Dehuai as the commander-in-chief.
He is also the secretary of the Former Enemy Committee, with Xu Xiang as deputy commander-in-chief, Yang Shangkun, Chen Changhao, and He Changgong as committee members, and unified command of the Third and Fifth Red Army Corps and the main forces of the Fourth Front Army, the Fourth Red Army, the Thirty Red Army, and the Red Thirty-first Army.
Order
Wang Shusheng, deputy commander-in-chief of the Fourth Red Front Army, commanded the Ninth Red Army to deploy defenses along the Wanyuan line, monitor the movements of the 17th Route Army, and ordered the Red Fourth Front Army and the Red 33rd Army to go south to Yilong and Yingshan to contact the 14th Red Division and consolidate the Nanchong first-line defense line.
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After receiving the telegram from the headquarters, Peng Dehuai was inexplicably excited. He took the hands of Xu Xiangqian and Chen Changhao and said: "Lao Mao is very courageous. Our two front armies join forces and this time we must defeat Wang Lingguan and Marshal Zhang. Let them mention it."
The word "Red Army" makes me wet my pants."
After saying that, without looking at Xu Qianqian and Chen Changhao's reaction, he directly led them to look at the map with torches and study the battle plan. It was not until the rooster sang that the few of them looked away from the map. Peng Dehuai was still interested.
Immediately announced the convening of the first enlarged meeting of the front committee, arranged the combat plan, and organized the attack sequence of the troops.
When the cook brought the hot breakfast, the leaders attending the meeting realized that they had stayed up all night with Mr. Peng.
After dinner, Peng Dehuai ordered the merger of the Third Army Headquarters and the Fourth Front Army General Headquarters to form the Eastern Sichuan Army Headquarters of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, and appointed Deng Ping, chief of staff of the Third Army Corps, as the commander of the headquarters, responsible for the safety and normal operation of the headquarters. Then
Just urge the three armies
, the divisions of the Fifth Army and the troops of the Fourth Front quickly moved towards the designated location. He and Xu Qianqian, Yang Shangkun, Chen Changhao, and He Changgong led the headquarters to advance to eastern Sichuan. In the words of Mr. Peng, "When leaders are together, there is