In May 1947, Su Yu commanded the main force of Huaye to annihilate the integrated 74th Division, one of the "five main forces" of the Kuomintang, at Menglianggu, and killed the division commander Zhang Lingfu.
The first battle of Meng Lianggu was extremely tragic, the enemy army was well-equipped and condescending, and our army exceeded 10,000, but this battle greatly boosted the morale of our army. **After learning that Huaye Rick had reorganized the 74th Division, he sighed: "I didn't expect it!."I didn't expect it!”
When the news of Zhang Lingfu's death reached Nanjing, Chiang Kai-shek was furious and immediately summoned Zhang Lingfu's superior, Tang Enbo. Although Chiang Kai-shek was short-tempered, he used to scold two swear words at most, but this time he was so angry that he hit Tang Enbo with a cane continuously.
* At the summary meeting of the Battle of Menglianggu, Chiang Kai-shek almost scolded the generals of the 74th Division. When mentioning Li Tianxia, the commander of the 83rd Division, Chiang Kai-shek seemed unwilling to say a word more, and waved his hand: "Li Tianxia does not need to be tried, and he will be executed immediately." ”
Of course, this is just Chiang Kai-shek's angry words, although Li Tianxia was ineffective in rescuing the 74th Division, and the blame cannot be escaped, but after all, he is Chiang Kai-shek's descendant, so he doesn't have to take his life, he just needs to break the fortune and avoid disaster.
After the Liberation War, Li Tianxia followed Chiang Kai-shek to Taiwan, and her life in her later years was not satisfactory, perhaps because she had been haunted by Zhang Lingfu's unjust ghost.
Li Tianxia was born in 1907 in a wealthy merchant family, and since he was a child, he has no worries about food and clothing, and his superior family conditions have allowed him to develop an arrogant and domineering personality.
In 1924, under the guidance of Gu Mingshi, he was admitted to the third phase of the Whampoa Military Academy, and since then he has embarked on the road of revolution. A year later, Zhang Lingfu was also admitted to the Whampoa Military Academy, and the two began to intersect.
At that time, Zhang Lingfu also called Li Tianxia a senior, and since there was no immediate dispute, the relationship between the two was not bad. However, after graduating from the Whampoa Military Academy, the relationship between the two gradually deteriorated due to various reasons.
Zhang Lingfu was originally the commander of the 305th Regiment of the 51st Division of the 74th Army, and Li Tianxia was the deputy commander of the 51st Division.
The real reason why the two turned against each other was that when competing for the commander of the 74th Army, Zhang Lingfu used some crooked ways, which made Li Tianxia, who thought he was very upright, very dissatisfied.
Because Zhang Lingfu was far stronger than Li Tianxia in the way of being an official, both Yu Jishi, the first commander of the 74th Army, and Wang Yaowu, the previous commander, strongly recommended Zhang Lingfu to Chiang Kai-shek, and Li Tianxia was completely defeated in this competition.
After Zhang Lingfu became the commander of the ace army, his attitude towards Li Tianxia and those miscellaneous army generals also changed, and his tone revealed arrogance from time to time.
After the outbreak of the Liberation War, the 74th Army was reorganized into the 74th Division, which was subordinate to the first column of the 1st Corps, and Li Tianxia was the commander of the first column, so Li Tianxia was still Zhang Lingfu's superior at that time. But Zhang Lingfu relied on himself as one of the five main forces and never took Li Tianxia in his eyes.
During the attack on Linyi, Zhang Lingfu was greedy for merit, and Li Tianxia withdrew the 83rd Division on the flank of the 74th Division, exposing the flank of the 74th Division to the PLA.
Zhang Lingfu later reported Li Tianxia to Tang Enbo, causing Li Tianxia to be demoted from the commander of the column to the commander of the integrated 83rd Division, and the contradictions between the two began to become irreconcilable.
In fact, there is another reason for the grievances between Li Tianxia and Zhang Lingfu, that is, Zhang Lingfu's military level is not as miraculous as people boast, and objectively speaking, he is not worthy of the title of "famous general" at all.
When he was imprisoned for the "wife murder case", it is enough to show that this person has a flawed character, is reckless, and lacks reason. Zhang Lingfu was originally Hu Zongnan's subordinate, and after being released from prison, he wanted to return to the old army, but he was rejected by Hu Zongnan, if his military level was really so good, he would not be rejected by Hu Zongnan.
Fortunately, he met Wang Yaowu, the number one nobleman in his life, at that time, and he barely found a place to live. The reason why Wang Yaowu let him stay in the 74th Army was mainly because he took a fancy to his "bravery", after all, he was only a regiment commander at that time, and there were more than 1,000 people under him, and it was enough to have "bravery".
In fact, at the beginning, Wang Yaowu asked Zhang Lingfu to work in the General Staff, and he didn't trust his ability to lead troops, but later after the formation of the 305th Regiment, the position of regiment commander was vacant, which made him top.
The first time Zhang Lingfu led his troops to fight the Japanese army was the Chunhua Town Blocking Battle in the Battle of Nanjing, when the task of the 305th Regiment was to cover the withdrawal of the main force of the 51st Division to Nanjing.
At that time, it was facing the 9th Division of the Japanese Army, which was the elite unit of the Japanese army, and its firepower was very fierce. Originally, as long as the 305th Regiment delayed as much time as possible, their task was completed, and Zhang Lingfu's performance was really indescribable.
We don't expect him to use the advantages of movement warfare to stop the Japanese army like the Red Army, at least don't be brutal, don't sacrifice the lives of the soldiers in vain. Master Zhang did show great heroism, leading the whole regiment to fight hand-to-hand with the Japanese army many times, but he was wounded, not to mention, and let many soldiers fall in the enemy's bullet rain.
He Yingqin once said: "The Battle of Shanggao was the most wonderful battle since the beginning of the war. This battle was also Zhang Lingfu's famous battle, in fact, it was the 51st Division led by Li Tianxia who really made the first contribution, and Li Tianxia won the fourth-class Baoding Medal after this battle.
Wang Yaowu also said when reporting to Chiang Kai-shek: "In the Battle of Shanggao, Li Tianxia's 51st Division and Yu Chengwan's 57th Division performed the best. Wang Yaowu did not mention Zhang Lingfu's 58th Division, which is enough to show that Zhang Lingfu's performance is really unsightly.
At the end of the Anti-Japanese War, Zhang Lingfu got the opportunity to go to Luda to gild. Dong Qiwu recalled: "He (Zhang Lingfu) spent 7 million yuan to buy a western-style building in the suburbs of Chongqing, pampered and pampered, eating, drinking, prostituting and gambling. I was invited to visit, and it was like a royal palace. ”
It can be seen from this that although Zhang Lingfu was wounded many times in the War of Resistance Against Japan, this can only show that he does not lack courage, and his military talent and character are still as inferior as before. So after Zhang Lingfu became the commander of the 74th Army, Li Tianxia of course refused to accept him.
After the outbreak of the Liberation War, Zhang Lingfu's shortcomings in military command were infinitely magnified. Holding the well-equipped 74th Division in his hand, he did not achieve anything in the early stage of the war, but let Su Yu play the regiment again.
In fact, before Meng Lianggu broke his halberd, Zhang Lingfu made the mistake of underestimating the enemy many times, but at that time, there would always be friendly troops to wipe his buttocks.
The last time he was deeply encircled, even if he stopped in place, with the combat effectiveness of the 74th Division, it was not easy for Huaye to completely eat it, all of them were alive, but Zhang Lingfu chose to defend Meng Lianggu. But as long as he had read "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and understood how Ma Tan carelessly lost the street pavilion, it was impossible for him to make such a wrong decision.
Even if he really went to Meng Lianggu, Zhang Lingfu's performance was also shocking, if you want people to support, first you have to be able to hold it, but the 74th Division only held out for three days in a well-equipped and condescending situation.
Look at how Huang Baitao defended Nianzhuang later, at that time, the Seventh Corps was also surrounded by Huaye layers, Nianzhuang was located in the plain, there was no danger to defend, and Huang Baitao's Seventh Corps was far less equipped than the 74th Division, but he held on for half a month.
Therefore, the annihilation of the 74th Division at Meng Lianggu was not all Li Tianxia's pot, and it was reasonable for Li Tianxia to look down on Zhang Lingfu.
By 1947, the Kuomintang's strategy had shifted from an all-out offensive to a focused one. In late March, the Kuomintang mobilized 24 integrated divisions with a total of 450,000 men to attack the liberated areas of Shandong.
* Under the cover of planes and tanks, it quickly spread out in the area of Jiangsu, and slowly advanced towards the liberated area of Shandong. Because in the process of fighting with our army before, ** deeply appreciated the strength of our army's movement warfare, so this time their actions were very cautious.
However, Zhang Lingfu was arrogant and did not take our army into account at all, and the 74th Division was always in the prominent part of the battle line. Due to the relatively high degree of mechanization of the 74th Division, the troops marched much faster than the 25th and 83rd Divisions on both flanks.
During the attack on Tanfu, Zhang Lingfu made meritorious contributions and ordered the troops to advance at full speed, eager to take all the combat achievements into his arms, and the distance between the 74th Division and the friendly forces was getting bigger and bigger.
Li Tianxia also realized that the 74th Division might be in danger, and later he saw that he did not save himself was actually not a personal grudge, at that time the 74th Division had already opened a long distance from other troops, even if Li Tianxia abandoned the previous suspicions, the 83rd Division was too late to make up for the gap on the front.
Moreover, the situation at that time was still unclear, and Li Tianxia, who had always been cautious, did not dare to act rashly, in case he could not save the 74th Division, but put himself in, it would be worth the loss.
Just when Li Tianxia was still thinking about how to perfunctory Zhang Lingfu, Su Yu had already made up his mind to eat the reorganized 74th Division at all costs.
Seeing that there were more and more People's Liberation Army around him, Zhang Lingfu still did not let go of his arrogant character, and brought the troops to Menglianggu, wanting to rely on the complex terrain here to hold on and wait for help.
When the 74th Division was constructing a position in Menglianggu, it found that although this high ground was easy to defend and difficult to attack, the water source was very limited, and the terrain was complicated, so it could not transport all the heavy ** up the mountain. It is easy to go up the mountain and difficult to go down, and at this time Meng Lianggu has been surrounded by layers of Huaye.
However, with the excellent combat quality of the 74th Division, it still repelled several charges of our army. Due to the lack of water sources, the officers and men of the 74th Division were so thirsty that they could only drink the stagnant water in the mountains to quench their thirst, and the heavy machine guns were also dumbfounded due to the lack of water.
After the gunshots rang out at Meng Lianggu, Tang Enbo hurriedly ordered Huang Baitao's 25th Division, Hu Lian's 11th Division, and Li Tianxia's 83rd Division to reinforce the 74th Division at all costs.
Since the 83rd Division was the closest to Menglianggu, Tang Enbo ordered Li Tianxia to lead a brigade to Taohuashan on the east side of Menglianggu. In order to make a difference, Li Tianxia only ordered Luo Wenlang, the commander of the 57th Regiment, to take a company to Taohuashan and carry a brigade-level radio station.
Li Tianxia's troops hesitated and sat back to watch the 74th Division being annihilatedDue to the long distance, Hu Lian's troops were stubbornly blocked by our army on the road, and the marching speed was slow. The one who really rushed to Meng Lianggu's aid at all costs was actually the miscellaneous general Huang Baitao, whom he had always looked down on. However, Huang Baitao's 25th Division was dragged to death by Huaye 1, and Zhang Lingfu failed to hold out until reinforcements arrived.
The Battle of Menglianggu lasted for three days, and the invincible reorganized 74th Division was completely annihilated by our army, and the division commander Zhang Lingfu was killed. This battle has always occupied an important place in the history of our army.
After learning the news of Zhang Lingfu's death, Chiang Kai-shek was very angry, and after reading the battle report, he severely punished all the generals involved in the rescue, including the hardest working Huang Baitao.
And Li Tianxia became the biggest back-up man for the annihilation of the 74th Division, and Chiang Kai-shek even threatened to "shoot on the spot". But after all, it was his own descendant, and when he was angry, he changed his mind and tried Li Tianxia in military law, and then put him in prison.
Li Tianxia understood that the principal was saving herself. During her detention, Li Tianxia spent a lot of money to bribe the military court, and it took only half a year to wash away all the guilt on her body.
After being released on bail, Li Tianxia was once again reused by Chiang Kai-shek, appointing him as the deputy commander of the First Appeasement Zone and the commander of the 73rd Army, which means that after Li Tianxia went through this incident, his official position was promoted instead.
But at that time, the general trend had gone, Li Tianxia spent every day drinking, ignoring military affairs, and her life became more and more erosive. After the battle of crossing the Yangtze River, Chiang Kai-shek ordered Li Tianxia to defend Fujian, and in the face of the tide of the People's Liberation Army, he thought most about how to send his property and family to Taiwan every day.
In August 1949, Li Tianxia's troops were completely annihilated by the 10th Corps led by Ye Fei, so he abandoned his troops and fled to Taiwan. After Li Tianxia arrived in Taiwan, Chiang Kai-shek held him accountable for his ineffective command and tried to shoot him again.
This time Chiang Kai-shek wanted to make an example of the monkey, because he had just fled to Taiwan at that time, Chiang Kai-shek had not yet gained a firm foothold, so he wanted to use Li Tianxia's head to stabilize the morale of the army. Thanks to Qian Dajun, He Yingqin and other human protection, Li Tianxia picked up a life, but still lived in prison for a few years.
After being released from prison, Li Tianxia still served in the army, but no longer had any real power, and since then he has gone to degenerate. Half of his life's wealth was squandered by him, and his wife divorced him.
In her later years, Li Tianxia also committed fraud with her own identity, so she was imprisoned for another year, and her reputation has been ruined since then.
In the past, Li Tianxia was Chiang Kai-shek's pawn in the fifth "encirclement and suppression" of the Soviet area, and he also joined the "rebel army" during the "Xi'an Incident" to try to rescue Chiang Kai-shek.
However, his past achievements were gradually forgotten by the Kuomintang, and this time he was imprisoned, and no longer had colleagues to intercede for him, and people always thought of the word "fraudster" when mentioning him. When he was released from prison again, he was terminally ill and died alone at home at the age of 60.
Looking back at Li Tianxia's life, it is extremely sad, the battle of Meng Lianggu seems to be a turning point in his life, you can say that he did not save when he saw death, or you can say that he did not rescue effectively, but this is just a performance that represents his historical moment. It is undeniable that he gradually lost himself in the big dye vat of the Kuomintang, and finally became a walking corpse.
Objectively speaking, Zhang Lingfu's situation at that time was completely made by himself, if Li Tianxia had made a decisive attack back then, he might have been able to fight a bloody way for the 74th Division, but it only played a certain role in the battle situation at that time, and could not change the trend of history, who can guarantee that Zhang Lingfu, a stunned young man, will not be so reckless next time?
Character determines fate, people like Zhang Lingfu are not suitable for sitting in the army and strategizing, and the captain of the death squad may be more suitable for him. This kind of person can become the commander of the 74th Division, which also reflects Chiang Kai-shek's unclear employment.