At the end of 1947, the Northeast Democratic Alliance launched a winter offensive, and after two months of fierce fighting, their goal turned to the strategic location of Siping. However, in the early morning of March 7, 1948, Zheng Dongguo, commander-in-chief of the Northeast Bandit Suppression, and Zhao Jiaxiang, chief of staff, rushed to Jilin City with Chiang's warrant and issued an urgent order to Zeng Zesheng, commander of the 60th Army: "The troops urgently withdrew to Changchun that night, and before retreating, all the materials that could not be carried must be destroyed, and the railway station, Fengman Hydropower Station, and dam must be blown up." Zheng Dongguo. After Zeng Zesheng received the order, he hurriedly said: "This, this is too urgent, can you give us more time?"But when Zheng Dongguo was about to refuse, Zhao Jiaxiang interjected: "No, Commander Zeng, Jilin is more than 200 miles away from Changchun, and there are enemies around, once you attract attention, you will be in danger." After Zheng Dongguo left, Zeng Zesheng immediately convened a military meeting, verbally conveyed the relevant arrangements for the retreat, and ordered He Xian, the chief of the first section of the Operations Department, to quickly draft the order. However, what is confusing is that at the meeting, Zeng Zesheng did not order the blowing up of the railway station and the Fengman hydropower station, which made He Xian feel embarrassed. Why did Zeng Zesheng do this?
According to Liu Hao, director of the Political Liaison Department of the First Corps of the Northeast Field Army, as early as half a year ago, the Northeast Bureau held a special meeting to discuss how to defend the Xiaofengman Hydropower Station. After discussion, the participants agreed that the Xiaofengman Hydropower Station located in the Songhua River was the largest water conservancy and power facility in the country at that time, not only with an annual power generation of 600,000 kilowatts, but also with a high water level and large water storage, which played a vital role in the entire Songhua River coastal area. So they decided to keep the hydropower plant at all costs. After the meeting, the Yunnan Army Working Committee of the Northeast Bureau and the Jinan Liaison Office, which was in charge of external work, drafted a warning letter entitled "Protecting the Hydropower Station to 60 Officers and Soldiers," which was printed overnight and sent to the 60 officers and men of Jilin City and the Xiaofengman Hydropower Station through various channels. In the early morning of March 8, 1948, after receiving the order, Regiment Commander Hu Yan resolutely decided that he would rather risk disobeying the military order than stick to the power station.
He never planned to destroy the power station, and it was not until the troops were about to withdraw that he discussed with the deputy regiment commander Huang Zongyao and decided to send the regimental reconnaissance platoon commander to lead several soldiers to use cluster grenades to blow up the secondary part of the power station to create a false impression and cope with the task. The Xiaofengman Hydropower Station survived, and then Commander Hu Yan and Zeng Zesheng experienced a test of life and death. Soon after, Chiang sent an envoy to arrive, and a life-and-death struggle was imminent. Zeng Zesheng clearly felt that this would be a difficult confrontation. Zheng Dongguo, deputy commander-in-chief of the Northeast "Suppression Chief", has always shown no mercy to the "renegades" around him. For the 60th Army, Zheng Dongguo was even more ruthless. During the siege, one of the statements of the 60 Army was exposed, and it was immediately dealt with severely. For Zeng Zesheng, the situation is very disadvantageous. Chiang firmly grasped the failure of the 60th Army to blow up the Xiaofengman Hydropower Station, and Zeng Zesheng would face danger to his life if he did not handle it properly. The envoy accused: "Why didn't you blow up the hydropower station and railway station and destroy arms and other materials as ordered?"Zeng Zesheng immediately realized the other party's intentions. He calmly replied: "If we really blow up the hydropower station and destroy the supplies, won't the **** sound be tantamount to announcing to the enemy that we are breaking through?"How can you not leak the rumors?
The envoy was furious and rebuked loudly: "It can't be done during the day, it's always okay at night, why don't you blow up the hydropower station at night?"Zeng Ze retorted bluntly: "Since you want us to blow up the hydropower station, may I ask, how much high explosives do you need?"How much did the superiors give us?"How much explosives are hidden at the Xiaofengman Hydropower Station?If it really needs to use a few tons of explosives to destroy the hydropower station, is it impossible to alarm the citizens of Jilin dozens of miles away or not attract the attention of the surrounding enemy?Zeng Zesheng's words made the envoy Fang dumbfounded. Zeng Zesheng continued: "Even if you don't think about alarming them, Jilin City is on the Songhua River, dozens of miles downstream of the hydropower stationOnce the hydroelectric power station and dam are blown up, the flood will not only flood the entire city, but even the entire army will not be able to escape. Envoy Fang was completely stunned when he heard this. After this battle of words, Zeng Zesheng argued against the other party, and the envoy had nothing to say, so he had to hurriedly find an excuse to leave the conference room. After Zeng Zesheng sent off the envoy, it was still difficult to calm down in his heart. Although his arguments seem plausible, if Chiang remains accountable for the failure to bomb the dam, he will likely be removed from his post and investigated. Just as Zeng Zesheng anxiously waited for the verdict of fate, something unexpected happened.
Chiang first mysteriously wrote a personal letter to Zeng Zesheng, praising the successful retreat of the 60th Army from Jilin City, calling it "the most successful strategic retreat", and approving the proposal to promote Zeng Zesheng to deputy commander of the First Corps and commander of the 60th Army. What is even more surprising is that the major news agencies in the United States and even the famous Reuters news agency in Britain have praised this retreat, and have published commentaries pointing out that the "Battle for the Defense of Jilin" and the "Retreat of Jilin" are "the most successful retreat from Dunkirk in the East." The retreat of the 60th Army from Jilin City, was it really a successful retreat?The answer is clearly no. According to records, the 60th Army retreated all the way to Changchun, and under the repeated attacks of the four independent divisions of the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army, it lost 4,139 soldiers, 44 artillery pieces including American 105-mm howitzers, nearly 1,000 guns of various kinds, 250,000 rounds of ammunition, 54 vehicles of various kinds, and 228 military horses. To the frustration of many officers of the 60th Army, the money they had deposited in the bank was too late to withdraw, and some officers lost all their business, resulting in low morale. The fact that the Chiang clan sent the minister to investigate the turmoil of the 60th Army's unbombed Xiaofengman Hydropower Station ended in such a way is still a mystery that is difficult to solve today.
Zeng Zesheng led the 60th Army to revolt in Changchun. Although the 60th Army led by Commander Zeng Zesheng did not make significant progress in the process of retreating, it successfully defended the "No. 1 Hydropower Station in Asia" and preserved the entire 60th Army in a battle of wits with the envoys. Eventually, they staged an uprising in Changchun, and the whole experience was thrilling. The historical exploits of Commander Zeng Zesheng will forever be recorded in history!