Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Chiang Kai-shek continued, "Not only is the situation in Hebei dangerous, but the situation in Suiyuan is also not good. Fu Zuoyi's main force was annihilated by the Communist bandit Wei Hongjun, and the wolf has returned to Baotou. Fu Zuoyi is now a toothless tiger and is of no use in Suiyuan. If the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Communist bandits are left alone, they will be like tigers out of the cage, and they will never be able to be caged again. By then, problems will arise in Shanxi, Hebei, and Rehe." Sun Lianzhong reported that Yang Quanwu's troops are currently concentrated in Shimen, and it seems that they are planning to attack Shimen.

Shimen cannot be lost. If Shimen is lost, both the Pinghan Road and the Zhengtai Road will fall into the hands of the Communist bandits. Li Zhongren and Sun Lianzhong are both unfit for important positions. Cixiu, the situation in Hebei cannot continue to deteriorate.

Chen Cheng understood what Chiang Kai-shek meant.

So he immediately stood up and said, "I'm willing to share the chairman's worries."

"Ah."

Chiang Kai-shek stood up, walked over to Chen Cheng, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Ci Xiu, you are my most trusted general. I plan to appoint you as the director of the Peking Branch, replacing Li Zhongren. When you arrive in Peking, the first thing you must do is organize the troops to defend Shimen.

Chiang Kai-shek originally wanted to put Li Zhongren on the shelf.

He didn't want a powerful person like Li Zhongren to affect his status.

So, although the Peking Provincial Military Commission was the highest military and political institution, it had no control over anything. Chiang Kai-shek had not intended to let Li Zhongren take charge of things. But now that the situation in Hebei was not good, Chiang Kai-shek was ready to send his favorite general, Chen Cheng, to Peking to serve as the director of the Peking Provincial Military Commission.

This is not just for show.

Chiang Kai-shek wanted Chen Cheng to do things.

"Yes."

Chen Cheng flew to Peiping on the afternoon of the day he received the order.

After arriving in Beiping, Chen Cheng immediately began to analyze the situation in Hebei. After Yang Quanwu's troops had rested for a while, they had begun to wipe out the Kuomintang troops around Shijiazhuang.

The troops approached Shijiazhuang step by step.

Chen Cheng came to Beiping this time to ensure the safety of Shijiazhuang. So he first sent a telegram to Pang Bingxun, asking Pang Bingxun to defend Shijiazhuang to the death and telling Pang Bingxun that he would definitely send him reinforcements. Then he gave orders to Sun Lianzhong.

The reorganized 55th Division and the reorganized 42nd Division immediately headed south to support Shijiazhuang.

This is not enough.

Chen Cheng ordered the Central Army troops attacking the liberated areas of Mancheng and Yixian to immediately turn south. He then ordered the Third Army stationed in Handan to march north to support Shijiazhuang. After arriving in Peking, Chen Cheng quickly dispatched three armies and two reorganized divisions to rescue Shijiazhuang.

All together there are about 120,000 to 130,000 people.

However, after withdrawing so many troops, Chen Cheng found that the troops in Beiping were seriously understaffed. Because Du Yuming wanted to develop in Rehe, he withdrew the 92nd Army and the 53rd Army from Hebei to cooperate with the Northeast National Army in the war.

Chen Cheng was very dissatisfied with Du Yuming's approach.

So he immediately ordered the 92nd Army and the 53rd Army to cooperate with the 94th Army to participate in the encirclement and suppression of the troops in eastern Hebei. As for Du Yuming's hope that these troops would go north to Rehe, Chen Cheng didn't care at all.

"Chen Cheng made a mistake."

After hearing Chen Cheng's rejection of the proposal to send the 92nd and 53rd Armies north to Rehe, Du Yuming immediately sent a telegram to Chen Cheng, stating that the current situation in the Northeast was not very good and that the troops could not break through the Siping defense line from the front.

So Du Yuming prepared to develop on both wings.

One was to march westwards into Rehe and capture it, while the other was to march eastwards and capture Benxi, Fushun, Tonghua and other places.

However, the Rehe region was home to numerous local forces. This included not only the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region, but also the Hebei-Rehe-Liaoning Military Region. Therefore, Du Yuming planned to concentrate his forces to quickly annihilate the PLA local forces in Rehe, then bypass Siping and advance through Tongliao to Changchun. However, Du Yuming's own forces were insufficient, so his plan to withdraw troops from Hebei was a mistake.

Previously, Li Zhongren had no control over these things, and the central army in Hebei obeyed Du Yuming's orders. But now that Chen Cheng has taken office, he doesn't care about Du Yuming at all and doesn't give him any face at all.

Chen Cheng, a graduate of the Baoding Military Academy, was the leader of the "Civil Engineering Department." Du Yuming was from the Whampoa Military Academy, essentially a splinter group from the He Yingqin faction. Chen Cheng was a high-ranking figure in the Nationalist government, while Du Yuming wasn't even at that level.

So Chen Cheng directly refused Du Yuming's request.

After receiving Chen Cheng's answer, Du Yuming could not help but say to Zheng Dongguo, "Chen Cheng is short-sighted. He only sees Hebei and fails to see the importance of the Northeast. Chen Cheng's coming to Peking will ruin the overall strategy of Hebei, the Northeast, and Rehe."

"Then what do you think we should do now?"

Zheng Dongguo's face also looked unhappy.

The front-line commander of the Siping Campaign was Zheng Dongguo.

However, the two sides fought in Siping for more than two months, but still failed to break through the Siping defense line. Moreover, Zheng Dongguo could clearly feel that the longer the Siping battle went on, the stronger the combat effectiveness of the People's Liberation Army troops in Siping would be.

And it is becoming increasingly unfavorable to the national army.

The People's Liberation Army carried out land reform and bandit suppression in North Manchuria, East Manchuria, and West Manchuria, gaining sufficient popular support. The Northeast Bureau's original decision to establish a strong presence in the countryside and develop rural bases is now showing significant results. Northeastern farmers are increasingly supporting the People's Liberation Army. Marshal Luo has established one second-line unit after another in the North Manchuria Military Region, East Manchuria Military Region, and West Manchuria Military Region, relying on the auxiliary regiments drawn from the main forces. To date, not counting the local troops developed by the military regions themselves, Marshal Luo alone has established more than 100 second-line corps. These troops are undergoing emergency training and are ready to supplement the field army at any time.

The growth rate of the number of the People's Liberation Army in Northeast China was astonishing.

The Northeastern People's Liberation Army, the field army, and the local second-line corps now total over 700,000 men. However, they are still in the training phase. The main field army forces need to learn large-scale combat on the battlefield, while the local troops and second-line corps need time to improve their combat effectiveness.

Once these troops become combat-ready, it will be time for the Northeastern troops to unleash their might.

The Northeastern troops' biggest advantage at the moment was their abundance of weapons. At the end of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, they seized a large amount of weapons and ammunition from the Japanese and puppet troops, as well as a large arsenal. They also used food to exchange for a large amount of weapons and equipment from the Soviet Union and North Korea.

So what the Northeast troops lack now is time.

Du Yuming and Zheng Dongguo both sensed this. That's why they were so anxious to open the Rehe front, aiming to penetrate Changchun from Rehe. Both knew that within two or three months, the situation in Northeast China would completely reverse. Their so-called Rehe strategy was merely a last-ditch effort.

"I'm going to go to Peking in person to talk to Chen Cheng. If that doesn't work, I'm going to go to Nanjing and talk to the old man.

Chapter 679 Battle of Shijiazhuang

Both Yan'an and Nanjing focused their attention on Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei.

One was stationed in Datong, the other in Shijiazhuang. Jin-Cha-Ji was a turbulent region during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and it remained so even now, with the outbreak of the Liberation War. The Jin-Cha-Ji troops, whenever they struck, were victorious with clean strokes.

Of course, many people within the National Army were also paying attention to Peking.

Because Li Zhongren left Peking and resigned as director of the Peking Provincial Committee. Li Zhongren was the leader of the Guangxi clique and a prominent figure in Chinese politics. He had forced Chiang Kai-shek to resign several times and was a rival that Chiang Kai-shek feared greatly.

So many people are paying attention to how Chiang Kai-shek will arrange Li Zhongren.

This is no small matter.

Another one is Chen Cheng.

What choice would this Chiang Kai-shek's favorite general, the head of the Civil Engineering Department, make after arriving in Peking? Furthermore, the investigation team brought by Chen Cheng was related to the lives and property of many people in Peking. Yang Quanwu had also received intelligence and learned of Chen Cheng's arrival. Yang Quanwu put down the telegram in his hand and said with a smile: "Lao Jiang really thinks highly of us.

Wang Zhi also nodded and said, "Yes. Chiang Kai-shek sent his favorite general, Chen Cheng, here. I heard that in addition to coming to Peking to serve as the director of the Peking Branch, Chen Cheng also brought an investigation team. They said they were investigating those who were involved in corruption during the takeover process.

"Chiang Kai-shek has done it once, and now he wants to do it again. Sending a team to investigate is useless.

Yang Quanwu curled his lips.

What inspection team?

When the Kuomintang took over those Chinese cities, they plundered the wealth of the occupied areas. It wasn't just a matter of two people, but a wholesale looting of wealth. And it wasn't just one faction that did this.

Almost all the powerful factions of the national army participated.

Chen Ben himself is relatively honest.

But those in Chen Cheng's faction also participated in the division of wealth.

"Chen Cheng has arrived and immediately mobilized three armies and two reorganized divisions. Which one should we attack?"

"Commander, I think we should attack the Third Army."

Geng Biao spoke.

He said: "Chen Cheng mobilized three armies and two reorganized divisions. But the only one truly interested in Shijiazhuang was the Third Army. Both the 16th and 62nd Armies were moving south from the Peking area. The New 42nd and 55th Divisions were Sun Lianzhong's troops. Although they accepted Chen Cheng's order to move south to rescue Shijiazhuang, they would never fight to the death if they were slightly blocked. In comparison, although the Third Army was Hu Zongnan's army, they had always been eyeing Shijiazhuang. Originally, when the Japanese surrendered, it was the Third Army that was to take over Shimen. But at that time, Pang Bingxun reorganized the puppet troops, puppet police, and bandits, and expanded the army to more than people to garrison Shimen. In order to win over Pang Bingxun, Chiang Kai-shek canceled the Third Army's plan to take over Shimen and had the Third Army stationed in Handan. But how can Handan compare to Shimen? So among these troops, the Third Army will definitely work the hardest."

Geng Biao analyzed the situation of several troops himself.

When fighting against the Nationalist Army, it is very important to analyze the Nationalist Army's origins.

When General Chen was fighting, he was very good at analyzing these things. He might not have been very good at fighting, but he was very clever at analyzing the enemy. He knew which enemies would react and which would just sit back and watch.

Therefore, when fighting, you must understand which enemies can be held steady and which enemies must be annihilated.

Geng Biao now has the same analysis.

Wang Zhi nodded and said, "The Third Army is a good target. It currently commands the Seventh and 32nd Divisions. Although the Third Army is known as a Central Army unit, the Seventh Division is actually a Yunnan Army unit, and the 32nd Division is a direct Hu Zongnan unit. Our intelligence indicates that Hu Zongnan treats the Seventh and 32nd Divisions differently. The Seventh Division not only suffers from poor equipment and supplies, but also from inadequate food. The 32nd Division, however, is a Hu Zongnan-affiliated unit, enjoying adequate pay and superior equipment. Third Army Commander Luo Lirong and 32nd Division Commander Liu Ying, while both graduates of the Whampoa Military Academy, belong to different factions and generally have a poor relationship. Consequently, within the Third Army, relations between the Seventh and 32nd Divisions are strained. While the Third Army appears powerful on the surface, it harbors numerous internal problems. This makes it a perfect target for us to take over. The 32nd Division, in particular, is well-equipped as a direct Hu Zongnan unit. Once we annihilate the 32nd Division, we can significantly improve the weaponry of our First Field Army."

Wang Zhi also agreed with Geng Biao's opinion.

The distance from Baoding to Shijiazhuang is actually not very large.

The troops heading south now include two armies of the Central Army and two reorganized divisions of Sun Lianzhong's army, totaling more than 100,000 troops. It is not easy to find an opportunity to annihilate one of the enemy forces here.

And it’s too close to Baoding.

Reinforcements from Baoding can arrive at any time.

In comparison, the Third Army was a single unit. Although it had approximately 30,000 men, it was plagued by internal conflicts. Furthermore, this was in the southern Hebei region, so if a fight broke out, troops from the southern Hebei military region could also assist.

Mainly to help fight reinforcements.

Yang Quanwu looked at the map and said, "The Third Army is a good target.

This time, we'll attack the Third Army. My idea is for the political commissar to lead our local forces to surround Shijiazhuang and prevent Pang Bingxun's troops from leaving the city to cause trouble. I don't think Pang Bingxun, given his current condition, would have the guts to leave. We'll use one column to block the reinforcements coming south, while two columns will participate in annihilating the Third Army.

"Old Yang, which column do you want to send to stop the Nationalist troops heading south?"

"First Column."

Yang Quanwu didn't think at all.

The First Column of the Jin-Cha-Ji First Field Army was Yang Quanwu's most trusted unit. Its commander, Huang Fa, was also Yang Quanwu's most admired general and possessed a formidable fighting capacity.

When faced with some difficult tasks, the first thing Yang Quanwu thought of was the First Column.

Geng Biao nodded.

The three columns under the First Jin-Cha Field Army were all formidable in combat. This was because their core units were all forged by Yang Quanwu during the Anti-Japanese War in the First Division. The First Column, in particular, was composed entirely of Yang Quanwu's most loyal and elite troops.

"Lao Geng, you come and formulate the battle plan."

"it is good."

"Lao Wang, contact the Ji'nan Military Region. We need the most accurate intelligence from them. We need to know the Third Army's exact marching route. The Third Army set out from Handan, and the entire route is through the Ji'nan Liberated Area."

"I will contact the Ji'nan Military Region immediately."

Wang Zhi nodded.

He smiled and said, "I believe that the Jinyi Luyu side is very willing to give us intelligence. The Third Army has more than 30,000 people in Handan, which poses a huge threat to the Ji'nan Military Region. If we annihilate the Third Army, it will help them remove a nail in Yi'nan. After the main force of Jinyi Luyu went south to the Central Plains, Comrade Chen Geng led his troops to fight in southern Shanxi. Ji'nan is currently lacking field army troops. It is difficult to deal with the Third Army relying solely on local troops."

In fact, if the Third Army had not gone north to support Shijiazhuang this time, Jin-Cha-Ji would not have cared about the Third Army.

Because the Third Army is in Handan.

It should be handled by the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan troops.

But now that the Third Army is heading north, Jin-Cha-Ji certainly cannot be let go.

"Okay, I'll report our ideas to the Military Commission, and then go check on the situation in the troops.

Soon the Central Committee approved Yang Quanwu and his team's battle plan.