Chapter 986
: My advantage is gone?
On November 2, 1948, the Liaoshen Campaign came to a complete end.
For the die-hards of the Nationalist government, the defeat in the Liaoxi Campaign (Liaoshen Campaign) was like a blow to the head.
At this point, they knew the main battle was about to begin on the Huaihai-Bengbu battlefield, but the Nationalist government made the same old mistake again:
The situation was uncertain, with some arguing between an offensive and defensive strategy between Xuzhou and Bengbu and abandoning Xuzhou to defend Huai'an.
The Nationalist government has a long history of problems: wanting to fight but also wanting to retreat, and lacking a firm will to fight. From the Battle of Shanghai to the Battle of Zhejiang and Jiangxi, to the Expeditionary Force, and now to the Xuzhou-Bengbu battlefield, there are just too many of these problems.
However, hesitation often leads to missed opportunities.
Just like on the Huaihai battlefield at this time—during the Liaoshen Campaign, they hesitated and failed to make sufficient preparations. It wasn't until the 6th, after the end of the Liaoshen Campaign, that the order was finally issued, intending for the Xuzhou Suppression Headquarters to begin deployment. But at this moment, the People's Liberation Army launched a thunderous offensive.
The Huaihai Campaign has officially begun!
The PLA's first strike was aimed at Xin'an Town—the easternmost salient of the Xuzhou Suppression Headquarters.
The Nationalist government's 7th Army Corps was stationed here.
Faced with the People's Liberation Army's offensive, the Nationalist government naturally knew to dodge the sharp edge, so it ordered the 7th Army Corps to retreat westward to Xuzhou—this was not wrong, but the mistake was that Commander Liu ordered the 7th Army Corps to wait for the 44th Army in Haizhou, intending to have both troops retreat westward to Xuzhou together.
As a result, the Seventh Army Corps wasted two days in Xin'an Town.
Of course, wasting these two days is theoretically not a big deal—because the 7th Corps of the 44th Army has joined forces with them, and they can still safely retreat to Xuzhou at this time.
why?
Because to his north, there was the Third Pacification Zone—located along the line from Taierzhuang to Jiawang, which could block the People's Liberation Army advancing south from Shandong, protect the left flank of the Seventh Army Corps, and allow it to safely withdraw into Xuzhou.
But all of this vanished with the sound of gunfire in Jiawang.
On November 8, two deputy commanders of the Third Pacification Zone led more than 11 troops in an uprising at the Jiawang battlefield!
……
Nanjing.
Although the Xuzhou-Bengbu battlefield was shrouded in war clouds at this time, and people with strategic vision like Zhang Anping were worried about the future situation, most people were still indulging in the dream that "the advantage is in our hands".
When comparing 80 and 60, what's wrong with saying "the advantage is in my hands"?
It is precisely because "the advantage is in our hands" that the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics can still "leisurely" engage in internal strife.
Director's Office.
After leisurely sipping his tea, Mao Renfeng asked his secretary with a cheerful smile:
"Is he still talking to someone?"
Although he didn't explicitly say who "he" was, the secretary replied quickly:
"I just met with Director Zhao."
Mao Renfeng frowned upon hearing this:
"Old Zhao again? What's Zhang thinking? Does he think he can convince Old Zhao with his alarmist words?"
Zhang Anping has been saying this a lot these past few days:
The situation is critical and there is no time to lose!
Time waits for no one. Once the Northeast Communist army crosses the border, it will be too late to regret it!
Listening to him is as if the Northeast Field Army would immediately march out of the pass.
However, everyone in the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics thought Zhang Anping was talking nonsense—although the National Army lost the Liaoxi Campaign, the Communist Army was not having an easy time either. Not to mention that they had to digest hundreds of thousands of prisoners, the soldiers must have been exhausted after nearly three months of fierce fighting!
How could the Northeast Communist Army possibly break through the pass so easily without three to five months of rest and recuperation?
The secretary then added:
"The department also believes that Deputy Director Zhang is too hasty. The key now is the Xuzhou-Bengbu battlefield. There won't be any problems in the Pingjin area in the short term."
Mao Renfeng laughed loudly upon hearing this:
"The more anxious he gets, the more I've grasped his weakness!"
"Hmph! You finally managed to completely suppress the Zhang faction, and you still dream of turning the tables? Dream on!"
Clearly, in Mao Renfeng's eyes, Zhang Anping's anxiety and urgency at this moment were not due to the precarious situation—although the situation was not good, Mao Renfeng did not believe it was as serious as Zhang Anping made it out to be.
He now leans toward another possibility:
Zhang Anping intended to absorb and assimilate the intelligence forces in Beiping!
For a period of time, Wang Tianfeng was in charge of the Zhang faction, but he was tricked and fell out with Shen Zui. Taking advantage of the gap in the Zhang faction's split, Mao Renfeng made arrangements from both sides, not only swallowing up Zheng Yaoxian's power, but also putting the Zhang faction under immense pressure. Although he did not annex the Zhang faction's power, he took advantage of the opportunity to expand his forces.
Once the time is right, these newly expanded forces will be fully absorbed and will become the cornerstone of the Maoist faction.
As one faction rises and the other falls, Zhang's faction will be left to live pitifully under the shadow of Mao's faction.
Mao Renfeng believed that this was an inescapable trend, and Zhang Anping had no way to stop him—only after stopping Zhang Anping from going to Beiping did he realize Zhang Anping's dangerous intentions.
By betting on Beiping and annexing and assimilating its massive intelligence network, as long as North China is secured and this force is fully integrated into Zhang's faction, the disparity in strength will become meaningless. At that time, Zhang's faction will even once again crush the enemy in terms of numbers!
In this situation, the more anxious Zhang Anping became, the less Mao Renfeng could allow Zhang Anping to succeed.
Seeing Mao Renfeng so smug, the secretary tactfully offered flattery:
"In the past, he only relied on Boss Dai's legacy. Now, the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics is your territory, Director. If he still can't recognize reality, even if he has people behind him, he will eventually only end up in a sorry state."
Upon hearing this, Mao Renfeng couldn't help but laugh out loud again.
Yes, so what if you, Zhang Anping, have a section chief backing you up?
Mao is no pushover!
Zhang Anping is a misnomer!
So what is Zhang Anping, who is "not living up to his name," doing now?
At this moment, Zhang Anping was earnestly persuading Director Zhao in front of him—Director Zhao was not previously in the key position of [Director's Secretary], because this position was previously controlled by Zheng Yaoxian.
However, after Zheng Yaoxian was dealt with by Mao Renfeng, he retreated into the Special Forces. Mao Renfeng then gave up the position of chief secretary to win over the "idle people".
However, the current chief secretary is not as glamorous as Mao Renfeng was back then. At that time, the chief secretary controlled the affairs of the bureau headquarters and was like a general manager. But now, the power of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics is either in the hands of Mao Renfeng or Zhang Anping. The chief secretary is completely nominal.
That's not right either. This position still has voting rights at bureau meetings, which is why Zhang Anping kept "harassing" Director Zhao.
"Director Zhao, the situation in Beiping is extremely critical—if the Northeast Field Army doesn't enter the pass soon, do you really think Fu Huabei can hold off the battle-hardened Northeast Field Army with his large army?"
"If our Bureau of Investigation and Statistics doesn't make preparations soon, the incident with the 60th Army in Northeast China might be repeated!"
Faced with Zhang Anping's earnest "harassment," Director Zhao, who had been bothered for two days, said rather helplessly:
"Deputy Director Zhang, this matter ultimately comes down to Director Mao's decision. If you've persuaded Director Mao, Zhao certainly won't cause any trouble!"
Zhang Anping's face darkened, and he looked like he was saying, "If I could convince him, would I be arguing with you?"
Seeing Zhang Anping's face turn dark, Director Zhao felt extremely pleased.
You two fought back and forth, and in the end, you left us veterans all alone. Now you know to beg me for help?
Want me to help you?
Keep dreaming!
Although Zhang Anping sensed mockery in Director Zhao's eyes, he persevered with unwavering determination, patiently explaining the situation to Director Zhao. Just as he reiterated that the Northeast Field Army was highly likely to enter the pass soon, Zheng Yi rushed in, flustered. "Chief Qu, something's happened."
"A mutiny has occurred on the Jiawang battlefield!"
"The two deputy commanders of the Third Pacification Zone, with tens of thousands of men... have rebelled!"
Zhang Anping suddenly stood up, but perhaps because he stood up too quickly, he felt dizzy and collapsed back onto the sofa. Zheng Yi hurriedly went to help him up, and then heard Zhang Anping ask in a hoarse voice:
Where is the mutiny taking place?
"Jiawang".
Director Zhao, standing to the side, also turned pale, but he couldn't understand why Zhang Anping was so shocked. He stood up and murmured:
"I remember that Jiawang is only about 30 kilometers away from Xuzhou. Xuzhou has a large number of troops gathered there. Even if it is only 30 kilometers away, infantry can arrive in a day. They can only bring tens of thousands of people with them. They should be able to suppress them all with a flick of their wrist."
Zhang Anping looked at Director Zhao in shock, seemingly unable to believe those words had come from him. His voice hoarse, he gave the order to Zheng Yi:
"Tell Mao Renfeng to convene a bureau meeting immediately!"
"The situation is extremely urgent!"
Director Zhao looked at Zhang Anping in surprise, thinking that Zhang Anping was making a mountain out of a molehill.
What kind of terrible news hasn't come from the Liaoshen battlefield? Jiawang, at most, has tens of thousands of troops involved. What urgent situation could there be?
Is this an attempt to use this as an excuse to make a big deal out of something?
He glanced at Zhang Anping's unsteady back and a cold smile crept onto his lips. Zhang Anping, you think you can use this as an excuse to cause trouble? You've got a bad idea!
……
News of the Jiawang Uprising spread rapidly within the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, but it did not cause any major upheavals.
why?
Because... you've seen and heard a lot!
During the Liaoshen Campaign, the 60th Army revolted, with about 26,000 people; the New 7th Army surrendered, with nearly 40,000 people; and the 53rd Army surrendered, with more than 20,000 people. These news had caused an earthquake within the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics. Now, how big of a deal is it that a mere 20,000 people in the Third Pacification Zone have revolted?
Our entire Security Bureau has weathered many storms, haven't we?
Moreover, Jiawang is right next to Xuzhou, and the Xuzhou army is gathering there. They can arrive in a day and not be able to quell this small, ragtag uprising.
This wasn't just the opinion of those below; almost all the high-ranking officials in the Bureau of Secrecy shared similar thoughts with Director Zhao.
However, even though we've weathered many storms and our mindset is now stable, we still have to put on a show at this point.
The only exception was Zhang Anping, whose face was filled with anxiety and tension, and his undisguised demeanor gave the senior officials of the Security Bureau the same thought as Director Zhao:
Is this guy trying to use this as an excuse to make trouble?
But no!
After Mao Renfeng announced the start of the bureau meeting, Zhang Anping did not launch into a tirade. Instead, he kept glancing outside. Seeing Zhang Anping's behavior, Mao Renfeng had no choice but to take the lead and start discussing how to deal with the situation. Dealing with the situation was nonsense; the main thing was how to demonstrate their innocence and find a way to make their presence felt elsewhere, so as not to disappoint their superiors in the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics.
The pretext everyone was waiting for never materialized. Seeing that they had already devised a plan, Zhang Anping was still looking around, seemingly waiting for something. Mao Renfeng couldn't hold back any longer:
"Deputy Director Zhang, don't you have anything to say?"
"I'm waiting for news from the General Headquarters' Inspection Office."
Zhang Anping's answers still seemed somewhat distracted, a sight that made the attendees murmur amongst themselves:
What's this thing up to?
Are they planning something big?
Mao Renfeng's gaze sharpened. The Xuzhou Suppression Headquarters' Inspection Office and the Xuzhou Station were two names for the same staff. That was Mao Renfeng's private territory. What did you, Zhang Anping, want to do?
Are you trying to take this opportunity to stick your claws in?
The others seemed to have similar thoughts, and they all glanced at Zhang Anping with amused eyes.
Just then, Zheng Yi hurriedly burst through the conference room door:
"Commander, a call from the Xuzhou Suppression Headquarters' Inspection Office!"
Normally, Zhang Anping should have said something at this point:
"Read!"
But at that moment, Zhang Anping pounced and snatched the telegram directly from Zheng Yi's hand.
Then, his expression changed drastically. He slammed the telegram on the table in anger and said through gritted teeth:
"Incompetent generals ruin the country!"
"Liu Jing's support of mediocre generals has led the country astray!"
It wasn't until then that the group of "idle" members of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics in the conference room, along with Mao Renfeng, realized something was wrong—Zhang Anping had directly criticized Liu Jingfu of the Xuzhou Suppression Headquarters, so was he perhaps planning to extend his reach into Xuzhou?
At this point, Director Zhao finally couldn't help but ask, "Deputy Director Zhang, what is the content of the telegram?"
Zhang Anping said through gritted teeth:
"The Xuzhou Suppression Headquarters, fearing that the Communist army would take advantage of the situation, chose to consolidate its forces and defend Xuzhou, temporarily abandoning Jiawang."
???
The conference room was filled with endless questions.
What? They're worried about being taken advantage of by the Communist army, so they've reduced their troop strength around Xuzhou?
It should be noted that at this time, Xuzhou had the 13th Army Corps, the 16th Army Corps which had been forced to retreat, and about 120,000 troops under the city defense and direct command of the suppression headquarters, totaling 250,000 men. Not counting the 7th Army Corps which was blocked by Jiawang, there were 350,000 troops within 200 kilometers who could provide support at any time.
At this time, were they worried that Xuzhou would be taken advantage of by the Communist army?
What a joke!
No wonder Zhang Anping was so angry.
[This guy is Liu Jingfu's enemy, so he guessed Liu Jingfu's reaction?]
Many people have this idea, and if that's the case, then it explains why Zhang Anping was in such a hurry before.
"You bastard!"
At this moment, Zhang Anping seemed to have lost his mind due to anger:
"The 7th Army Corps and the 44th Army could have been saved, but now... now there's no saving them at all!"
"These 100,000 people... I'm afraid they won't be coming back!"
It wasn't until these words were spoken that everyone in the meeting room realized that Zhang Anping was actually worried about the Seventh Army Corps retreating from Xin'an Town to Xuzhou.
"By the way, Jiawang was the gatekeeper of the northern front when the Seventh Army Corps retreated—so that means..."
At this point, someone finally realized the importance of Jiawang.
Zhang Anping had already pulled out a map of Xuzhou, and pointing at it, he said in an indignant voice:
"The Seventh Army Corps had only two routes to retreat from Xin'an Town to Xuzhou: the Longhai Railway and the plain corridor to the north."
"No matter which route they choose, the Shandong Corps of the Communist Army will be a deadly threat during the westward retreat—a threat that was previously shielded by the Third Pacification Zone!"
"But now, the Third Pacification Zone is gone, and the flank of the westward retreat has been completely exposed to the Communist army's advance."
"If Jiawang is in trouble, and Xuzhou rushes to its aid immediately, it is possible to tie down the rebel and Communist forces and secure a safe passage for the Seventh Army Corps."
"But now... Xuzhou's troop strength is actually shrinking! The Seventh Army Corps is in a precarious situation. Xuzhou has the ability to rescue it but has chosen to shrink its troop strength. Now, as long as the Communist army crosses the defense zone of the Third Pacification Zone and enters Caobaji and Daxujia, it can cut off all the Seventh Army Corps' retreat routes!"
"At that time, the Seventh Army Corps will only be able to move around in this tiny space."
"The 7th Army Corps, numbering 100,000 men, is in danger!"
With Zhang Anping's explanation, the people from the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics finally understood the importance of Jiawang and the severity of the current situation.
It's quite normal that these intelligence agents don't understand or know these military-related professional skills. Normally, after such news comes in, there would be a dedicated staff officer to interpret it and make them realize the seriousness of the matter. However, this bureau meeting was held in a hurry, and they hadn't figured it out before the meeting started. Therefore, they haven't understood the importance of Jiawang's loss.
Now I understand, and I realize why Zhang Anping lost his composure earlier.
The safety of 100,000 troops of the Seventh Army Corps was at stake in a mere Jiawang!
More importantly, this battle was bound to be the first battle of the Huaihai Campaign, and the loss of 100,000 troops in the first battle was a devastating blow...
Moreover, they all knew Mi Gu's style. Other famous generals would kill 3,000 enemies but lose 800 of their own, but Mi Gu would kill 10,000 enemies but gain 7,000 of his own!
We clearly have an 80-to-60 advantage, but if we lose the Seventh Army, the tide will turn...
The advantage was mine, but... it's gone! (End of Chapter)