Chapter 1015
: A Storm Rises in the Dark, Capture the King to Catch the Thief?
Beiping.
Zhang Anping was looking at the battle report coming from Zhangjiakou.
The battle report was "very impressive".
The fully mechanized 35th Army, equipped with hundreds of vehicles, quickly engaged in the battle after setting off in the evening and arriving in the morning. It stabilized the precarious front line at Zhangjiakou and even began a counter-offensive.
Everything was just as Fu Huabei had predicted. The siege of Zhangjiakou by the North China People's Liberation Army was to support the Xuzhou-Bengbu battlefield.
Zhang Anping smiled, put the battle report aside, and stared intently at the name of a city.
Miyun.
This is truly a wonderful place with outstanding people and beautiful scenery...
He smiled mysteriously, then picked up the second battle report.
Huh?
Commander Du deceived everyone, feinted an attack with the Xuzhou troops, and then ran away?!
It must be said that Commander Du's ability is quite good. At this critical moment, he was able to make such a miraculous operation—even though Xuzhou is now in a terrible state due to the emergency evacuation.
[Commander Du, Commander Du, if I were you, I would definitely set up the anti-aircraft guns and machine guns, and shoot down every plane that comes...]
Zhang Anping's mysterious smile deepened. Sometimes, when he recalled the order to airdrop during the Huaihai Campaign, he felt it was absurd.
From the perspective of the chief attendant, some "gambles" are gambles that one knows will result in a loss, but one still has to gamble!
On the Huaihai battlefield, he could not abandon most of Huang Yi Corps, so Huang Yi Corps could only enter Nianzhuangwei and hold the position, rather than desperately break out at the first opportunity.
Even though Commander Du's view was correct, he still couldn't just abandon Huang Er Corps, which was surrounded.
[It can only be said that our army's strategy is too miraculous; every time, they strike at the very heart of the problem! The heart that must be saved!]
Thinking of this, Zhang Anping's gaze involuntarily turned to the map, to the area represented by the name "Miyun".
This is also seven inches!
Zhang Anping smiled, wondering how Fu Huabei would react once the fighting in Miyun started.
I'm afraid I won't have time to pay attention to the Huaihai Campaign in the next few days.
He couldn't help but get into character, repeatedly scrutinizing his next words in his mind.
The office door opened, and Zheng Yi, with a serious expression, strode in:
"Chief, something's happened!"
Zhang Anping used a gaze instead of a question, and Zheng Yi quickly replied:
"A call came from headquarters. Mao Renfeng mobilized personnel from the Second Bureau and the Party Affairs Bureau to launch a secret operation to capture Wang Tianfeng. However, the two strongholds turned up nothing. Finally, Bian Jike focused his attention on the surrounding area and discovered Wang Tianfeng's hiding place, but it was too late. Wang Tianfeng had left through a secret passage. Because of the booby traps, four people were killed on the spot. In addition, the secret passage collapsed, so it was impossible to pursue him."
"Booby trap?"
Zhang Anping's gaze sharpened.
Wang Tianfeng could escape capture, but he could also kill his own men by setting up booby traps...
This is a choice with no turning back!
He shook his head. Although he hadn't caught Wang Tianfeng, it was still good news.
Wang Tianfeng, this is tantamount to a formal defection!
"Don't worry about him, Mao Renfeng is more panicked than we are."
Zhang Anping waved his hand, indicating that Zheng Yi did not need to send a reply to headquarters.
Seeing that Zhang Anping had made up his mind, Zheng Yi stopped pressing him and instead brought up another piece of intelligence:
"This is a message from the General Headquarters for the Suppression of Communists - the 13th Army in Miyun reported that several thousand Communist troops have been spotted in the northeast and northwest directions, suspected to be Communist troops in North China holding back the Pingzhang Railway and supporting the Battle of Zhangjiakou."
"The General Headquarters agreed with the 13th Army's assessment, but requested that we increase our monitoring of the Shanhaiguan direction."
Clearly, this was a plan to keep a close watch on Shanhaiguan Pass and prevent the Northeast Field Army from entering.
Is the wind picking up in Miyun?
Zhang Anping said calmly, "Tell the General Headquarters that I have already sent people to keep watch in the direction of Shanhaiguan."
"Yes!"
……
When the fighting first broke out in Miyun, the North China Suppression Headquarters clearly did not realize that there was more to it than met the eye, and instead remained "calm" in its response, only warning the 13th Army not to attack, lest it fall into an ambush.
But the next day, things were not as they seemed.
The 13th Army stationed in Miyun received a series of phone calls:
Outpost lost, outpost lost, outer outposts lost too, all outer outposts lost!
In the afternoon, the 13th Army said nervously:
The Communist army's artillery fire was extremely fierce, unlike Yang's troops...
The North China Suppression Headquarters was dumbfounded.
Doesn't look like the Yang tribe in North China?
What... does it resemble?
After much deliberation, a group of staff officers and senior generals finally reached a conclusion with trepidation:
This firepower and this offensive are somewhat similar to the tactics of the Communist army in Northeast China...
"This is impossible!"
Zhang Anping, who was present at the meeting, immediately rejected the idea: "Recently, I have focused on strengthening the monitoring of the Shanhaiguan direction, and the Air Force also conducts reconnaissance frequently. It is impossible for the Communist army to enter the pass without our eyes!"
Representatives from the Air Force also sided with Zhang Anping, believing it was impossible for the Northeast Field Army to enter the pass.
"This approach is indeed similar to the habits of the Northeast Communist Army—the Air Force conducts low-altitude reconnaissance around Gubeikou, and once a large group of people wearing dog-skin hats is spotted, they immediately report back!"
Fu Huabei dared not be careless and could only intensify his reconnaissance efforts in the Gubeikou direction.
However, since the air force did not detect the arrival of a large force, the entire General Headquarters believed that the North China People's Liberation Army had received support from the Northeast People's Liberation Army and had unleashed astonishing combat power after upgrading its weaponry.
However, on the question of whether to send troops, the General Headquarters held a unified attitude:
Hold off!
why?
Because it is still unclear which unit attacked Miyun, and there are many contradictions in the telegrams and phone calls sent back by the Miyun garrison.
The core reason is that the 115th Division of the 13th Army is a direct descendant of the Central Army. When Zhangjiakou was besieged, the Central Army insisted that the Northeast Field Army had not entered the pass and remained inactive. In the end, it was the 35th Army, a mobile force, that rushed to the rescue.
Now that it's the Central Army's turn, why should the Sui Army rush over to their aid?
If anything is to be done, the Central Army should be the first to act!
Time flew by and the next day arrived.
5 number.
The North China Suppression Headquarters was busy with all sorts of things, but it was unclear what they were busy with—they hadn't considered sending troops yet, and instead were focused on monitoring the Gubeikou area.
At this time, the 115th Division of the 13th Army was facing a fierce general offensive from our army!
As soon as the general offensive began, the defending troops were stunned by the bombing, and telegrams came to the general headquarters one after another:
The firepower is overwhelming! Reinforcements! Reinforcements!
That's too strong! We can't hold on!
If reinforcements don't arrive soon, we're going to have to run!
Dog-skin hats, all dog-skin hats—it's the Northeast Communist Army! It's the main force of the Northeast Communist Army! The Northeast Communist Army has entered the pass!
Fu Huabei was so shocked that he stood up abruptly. The Northeast Field Army had entered the pass?
And instead of going through Shanhaiguan, they went through Xifengkou and Lengkou, which they thought were possible routes?!
Oh no, they're coming for me!
Fu Huabei was terrified—the fall of Miyun meant that the northern gate of Beiping was wide open, and the troops were now stationed elsewhere, with the only mobile force, the 35th Army, having gone to Zhangjiakou.
If the Northeast Field Army were to advance unimpeded, the Central Army would surely rush to Tanggu without hesitation to wait to board the ships. With their meager forces facing the Northeast Field Army head-on, their stronghold would be destroyed in an instant!
This is a classic case of capturing the leader to catch the thief!
Not only Fu Huabei "understood" it, but other officers in the General Headquarters also "understood" it at this time—attacking Zhangjiakou was a ploy to lure the enemy away from their stronghold.
After realizing what was happening, Fu Huabei immediately ordered: "Send the 35th Army back immediately!"
Zhang Anping suddenly shouted:
"Wait—Commander Fu, I suspect the 115th Division's intelligence is wrong!"
Ok?
Countless eyes were focused on Zhang Anping.
Zhang Anping immediately analyzed:
"Commander Fu, besides the 115th Division, there is the Provisional 63rd Division that fled back from Gubeikou and Shizha without a fight, and the Security Regiment that fled back from Rehe. These armed forces rushed to Miyun without even seeing a trace of the Communist army. Now that the fighting has started in Miyun, these troops must be the rats that spoil the soup!"
"The Miyun garrison was very likely influenced by them, exaggerating the firepower and size of the Communist army, and identifying them as the Northeast Communist army!"
"If the Northeast Communist army were to enter the pass, even a small force of several hundred thousand would be there. How could there be no movement at all?" He had barely finished speaking when a Sui army general angrily rebuked him:
"fart!"
"Zhang Anping, in order to shirk responsibility, you've actually disregarded the overall situation?!"
"Commander Ou of the 115th Division is a veteran of many battles, and Miyun also has a well-preserved city defense. I have personally seen the defenses of Miyun. The walls are ten meters high, the moat is thirty meters wide, and there are countless forts, both visible and hidden. All the residential houses within 200 meters of the city walls have been demolished!"
"With such city defenses and elite American weaponry, even the Americans could hold out for a month or two! If it weren't for the main force from Northeast China entering the pass, and if they hadn't concentrated all their artillery fire, how could so many exposed and concealed bunkers have been destroyed in an instant?"
"Commander Fu, don't hesitate any longer! Quickly consolidate your forces! Any later and the Communist army will be at the gates of Beiping!"
Zhang Anping retorted sternly:
"Impossible! Even if a large number of my intelligence agents in the Northeast have been eliminated, the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of troops cannot be done silently! It is definitely not the main force of the Northeast Field Army!"
Is Zhang Anping right?
Have!
But one sentence in that statement struck a nerve with Fu Huabei:
Even though a large number of my intelligence agents in Northeast China have been eliminated!
If the Northeast Communist Army had eliminated all the informants of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, the Second Bureau, and the Party Communications Bureau in the Northeast, the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of troops could certainly have fooled the reconnaissance, as long as they operated at night and hid during the day.
Moreover, he had been keeping an eye on the direction of Shanhaiguan. If the Northeast Army entered the pass through Xifengkou and Lengkou, it would have conveniently avoided his focus of observation. Therefore, it was entirely possible that he appeared in Miyun without warning!
The most crucial point is that if the People's Liberation Army were to advance directly on Beiping after the fall of Miyun, the poorly defended Beiping would simply be unable to hold out!
With this in mind, Fu Huabei solidified his decision:
"Order the 35th Army to return to reinforce immediately!"
"in addition--"
"The 104th Army from Huailai is heading west to support the 35th Army!"
"The 62nd, 92nd, and 94th Armies from Tianjin and Tanggu should immediately return to reinforce Beiping!"
"The remaining units of the 13th Army shall abandon Huairou and Shunyi and retreat to Tongxian! The 101st Army shall abandon Zhuoxian and Liangxiang and retreat to Fengtai and Wanping!"
"Retreat all lines towards Beiping! Defend Beiping to the death!"
At this moment, Fu Huabei's face was extremely ugly. His plan was to retreat westward if the situation became unfavorable, but now that Miyun had fallen, the northern gate of Beiping was wide open. Although there was no evidence that the People's Liberation Army had cut off the westward retreat route, retreating westward now, especially with the main force, was simply impossible!
The only way is to shrink back and then use the Tianjin-Tanggu sea route to retreat south—but how many of the hundreds of thousands of troops can be withdrawn?
half?
Or... less?
"Damn it!" Fu Huabei glared at Zhang Anping as he thought this.
"What exactly is your Bureau of Investigation and Statistics doing? The Northeast Field Army entered the pass without any warning!"
The generals of the Central Army were quite disgusted with Zhang Anping.
What I dislike is that Zhang Anping sees the Sui Army and the Central Army as the same, showing no favoritism towards the Central Army and often putting them in a passive position.
But there is one thing they see very clearly:
Zhang Anping, he's one of their Central Army men!
They can isolate Zhang Anping, but they will never let Fu Huabei deal with Zhang Anping.
At this moment, Fu Huabei focused his anger on Zhang Anping, and they immediately understood the meaning of establishing authority—to deal with or kill Zhang Anping, thereby making an example of him.
The possibility of him being killed is extremely low, while the possibility of him being dealt with is extremely high.
But we can't start this!
Having set this precedent, Fu Huabei could then use the defense of Beiping to cover the southward retreat, and in doing so, threaten and deal with the Central Army generals, ultimately using the Central Army as cannon fodder to cover the withdrawal of his Suiyuan Army.
Even with a large number of Sui army troops around him, Fu Huabei's chief aide could not avenge them.
Therefore, Fu Huabei must not be allowed to deal with Zhang Anping.
Therefore, the Central Army generals who were already isolating Zhang Anping immediately spoke out:
"Commander Fu, please calm down—Director Zhang has been emphasizing the possibility of the Northeast Field Army entering the pass, and he even opposed the transfer of the 35th Army to Zhangjiakou!"
"Yes, Director Zhang has always firmly believed that the claim of entering the pass from March to June was a strategic deception. Although there was no intelligence to corroborate this, Director Zhang has consistently maintained this view!"
At this moment, Li and Shi didn't care whether supporting Zhang Anping was a slap in their face, and they kept calling him "Director Zhang" with great "respect."
This was clearly a veiled message to Fu Huabei:
This person is the director of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics—although he is only the deputy director!
But if you use this as a pretext to punish him, no way!
The other Central Army generals realized what was happening and immediately spoke up to defend him, with many emphasizing that Zhang Anping had anticipated the enemy's moves and that it was just that he didn't believe it...
Seeing this, Fu Huabei knew that his plan had failed.
He genuinely wanted to use Zhang Anping as a "chicken"—especially since Zhang Anping shared a large sum of military funds with him. By disposing of Zhang Anping, he could pocket the funds and avoid the risk of the chief aide dividing them up after the retreat to the south.
But with the central army generals' attitude so resolute, he dared not take action.
Although reason told her that Zhang Anping's words made a lot of sense, Fu Huabei dared not gamble, nor could she gamble.
If they retreat across the board to defend Beiping, they still have the option of retreating south.
But if you lose the bet, you lose everything. If you get caught, there will be no chance left.
Therefore, he can only shrink!
Zhang Anping seemed to realize at this moment that Fu Huabei had intended to kill him, but he was still full of resentment. However, under the stern gazes of Li and Shi, he had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.
Once the decision was made, telegrams were sent out one after another, and the Nationalist army throughout North China mobilized.
……
Miyun fell that very night—Commander Ou of the 115th Division disguised himself and fled. Of the entire Miyun garrison, more than 5,000 were annihilated, and more than 2,000 "disappeared," presumably having simply taken off their clothes and fled away from the Kuomintang.
Only a few hundred people managed to escape back to Beiping in a sorry state, and their escape was not smooth, because our guerrilla forces were everywhere, and their escape was extremely difficult.
Just as Miyun fell, the 35th Army in Zhangjiakou began packing its bags.
They were to retreat back to Beiping the following day along the Pingzhang Highway.
The 11th Army Corps was the most disappointed by this – reinforcements had arrived, but now they were leaving.
With the arrival of reinforcements, the crisis in Zhangjiakou was resolved;
What will happen to Zhangjiakou now that the reinforcements have left? What will happen to the nearly 6 soldiers of the 11th Army Corps in Zhangjiakou?
Commander Fu's order is to hold the line and wait for reinforcements, but will there really be any reinforcements?
The entire 11th Army Corps watched with sorrow as the 35th Army packed its bags, feeling lost and abandoned, unable to shake off the grief for a long time.
The next morning, the 35th Army, which had arrived in a great hurry, departed in the same great hurry.
When he came, his flanks were protected by friendly forces, but when he left, those friendly forces were ordered to retreat—could there be any peace on this journey?
as predicted.
Not long after leaving Zhangjiakou, the large convoy began to encounter various forms of obstruction.
When they arrived, the 35th Army set off in the evening and arrived in the morning, but when they left, they rushed around for a whole day, and when they looked back, damn it, they still hadn't reached Xinbao'an!
When the hell will we be able to get back to Beiping?!
The next day, the 35th Army was determined to break through our army's blockade and try to reach Beiping by evening, but the intensity of the battle exceeded their expectations.
Our army fought an extremely tenacious resistance, managing to hold off this fully mechanized mobile force to the west of Xinbao'an, making it virtually impossible for them to advance an inch.
But the 35th Army's fighting power was not to be underestimated. By evening, they finally broke through our army's blocking line, entered Xinbaoan, and took control of the station. The 35th Army breathed a sigh of relief. After tonight, they could run all day tomorrow and definitely reach Beiping before evening!
But at dawn, the intelligence brought by the scouts left the 35th Army completely bewildered:
It seems like there are Communist troops everywhere?
That's not right!
They just broke through the Communist army's blocking line last night, so where did the Communist army come from?
The 35th Army immediately sent troops to probe, and this probe led to an immediate and devastating outcome!
We're surrounded!
Their fully mechanized force was surrounded by the People's Liberation Army in the new Bao'an city!
With this density of enclosure, let alone a car, even a fly probably couldn't get out.
The entire 35th Army was gripped by panic. Following the encirclement of the Huangyi, Huanger, and Xuzhou Corps on distant battlefields, their mobile force in North China had also fallen into the same trap!
The news reached the North China Suppression Headquarters immediately.
Fu Huabei froze upon hearing the news.
He had temporarily abandoned the 11th Army Corps in Zhangjiakou, and his heart was already bleeding—the 11th Army Corps was the backbone of his Suiyuan Army.
But now, their trump card, a highly mobile and fully mechanized force with hundreds of cars, is actually, actually, completely surrounded by Xinbaoan?!
Misfortunes never come singly.
We just received news that the 35th Army is trapped in Xinbao'an, and the 11th Army Corps' telegram is almost here:
We are surrounded once again!
This time, there will be no way out, no more encirclement on three sides and letting one escape; there are no gaps, no way back—it's a complete and utter encirclement, a trap to beat the dog! (End of Chapter)