General Hu Lian was an important general of the Kuomintang, and his life was full of many tough battles and wars. From the beginning of the Northern Expedition to the War of Resistance against Japan and the warlord melee, he always followed Chiang Kai-shek in the southern expedition to the north and showed extraordinary military talent.
His heroic performance made him gain the evaluation of "loving talent as life, spending money like dirt, and killing people as hemp" within the Kuomintang.
Huang Wei found himself surrounded by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) on the battlefield, because the PLA had launched an all-out attack and inflicted heavy losses on the 49th Division of the Kuomintang 18th Army in the vicinity of Xidaying.
This battle caused the 18th Army to lose the combat strength of a division, and the remnants of the defeated army could only flee along the trail to the Bengbu area. Chiang Kai-shek was so alarmed that he ordered Huang Wei to find a way to break out of the siege himself.
At this time, Huang Wei was already trapped, and he could only gather troops of multiple arms and rush to kill in the direction of the double stack. At this time, an underground CCP member who had been lurking in the top echelons of the Kuomintang for a long time.
Hu Lian's heart seemed to be tightly bound, and he couldn't get rid of the worry that the 12th Corps was trapped in Shuangduiji. Although his elderly father was critically ill, when he heard the news of Huang Wei's siege, he immediately flew back to Nanjing to ask Chiang Kai-shek for help.
Chiang Kai-shek appreciated Hu Lian's anxious mood and sent the commander-in-chief of the Air Force to prepare a small plane so that he could quickly rush to the front. Years of tempering have made the Eighteenth Army a heroic and combative army, which is praised as"The Army of Tigers and Wolves"。
In the eyes of Chiang Kai-shek, Hu Lian and his army were"Five main forces"One of them, trustworthy. On the plane, Hu Lian's thoughts were like a mess, he leaned against the window, and his mind was heavy.
The guard's reminder brought him from his musings, and he looked up, the double-stacked battlefield below his vision becoming clearer.
When Huang Wei, Wu Shaozhou and other front-line generals saw Hu Lian himself, they immediately surrounded him, especially Huang Wei, who felt that he had met a "savior". Although Huang Wei didn't say anything because of the difficult situation, he just shook his head slowly, but he held Hu Lian's hand tightly.
Hu Lian didn't have time to talk to these defeated generals, and walked straight to the war room of the Corps headquarters. When he saw the logo of Huang Baitao's Seventh Corps, he was angry, pointed to the map and shouted: "It's all over!" ”
Facing the angry Hu Lian, Huang Wei couldn't explain anything, but just breathed a long sigh of relief. Huang Wei felt that his defeat and siege were not caused by his own reasons.
If he knew, the purpose of Hu Lian's trip was to change this situation.
After listening to the reports of the commanders of the various districts on the current situation, Huang Wei conveyed to Hu Lian his determination to fight. After listening carefully to the opinions of the army and division commanders, Hu Lian announced to everyone that Chiang Kai-shek would send more troops to reinforce them.
In order to prevent the crisis from expanding, the armies must hold their ground.
Although the extent to which Hu Lian's words will be fulfilled is uncertain, at least for the various armies that are currently in a difficult situation, it is a good medicine full of hope. In the face of the fierce attack of the People's Liberation Army, the situation of Huang Wei's corps is also gradually deteriorating.
** Keeping an eye on the battle situation, General Huang Wei had already realized that it was difficult for him to break through, so he decided to let Hu Lian return to Nanjing to report the situation. At the time of parting, Huang Wei held Hu Lian's hand tightly and instructed him to do his duty.
Hu Lian lived up to expectations and flew back to Nanjing to give Chiang Kai-shek a detailed report on the plight of Huang Wei's corps. At the dinner, Chiang Kai-shek looked at the group of "students" with a heavy heart and did not know how to speak.
He just waved everyone to start eating, and the atmosphere in the whole venue was depressing, and no one dared to speak more. Under Chiang Kai-shek's instructions, Hu Lian bravely returned to Shuangduiji again.
Huang Wei was puzzled by the KMT's decision, but seeing that Hu Lian had already arrived, they could only discuss the next battle strategy together. Hu Lian brought the astonishing news: the Kuomintang was preparing to use a type of high bomb called "Type A Bomb" and "Type B Bomb", which contained a large number of lethal components and had been banned by the international community.
This fully shows that the Kuomintang has lost its heart and has done everything in its power to win the war. When the generals heard the news, they were all terrified and worried. If these two poison shells were released, they could not only be killed in the attacks of the PLA, but also fall in the Kuomintang troops who used them.
Hu Lian just said calmly: "Then let's die together, this is what the old man meant." ”
Yang Botao understood that no matter what method they used, they could not stop the pace of the PLA's advance. ** Chasing Huang Wei's corps, Du Yuming's corps, and now staring at Li Yannian and Liu Ruming's two corps, Huang Wei's corps wants to rely on its own forces to turn the tables, it is almost impossible, and the surrounding reinforcements cannot be mobilized, and now it has evolved into a situation where they are fleeing.
Letter urging Huang Wei to surrender immediately" Huang Wei was "loyal" and completely ignored the fact that many company-level and battalion-level units under his command surrendered in pieces, and he was determined to uphold Chiang Kai-shek's will and fight to the end.
However, on December 15, Hu Lian and Huang Wei finally realized that it was no longer practical to turn over the battle, and they could only order an immediate breakthrough.
During the breakout operation, Huang Wei decided to cooperate with the Air Force to complete the breakout during the day in order to preserve his vital strength. However, Chiang Kai-shek was furious and insisted that the troops complete the breakthrough in the morning.
Huang Wei realized that the troops could no longer hold out until the next day, so he decided to act immediately. Despite the confusion in the troops, senior PLA generals have already seen Huang Wei's intention to flee.
During the escape, Huang Wei and Hu Lian acted separately in armored vehicles, but Huang Wei's tank malfunctioned, and he was forced to get out of the car and run in the chaos. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) has always given preferential treatment to prisoners who do not resist.
As long as the People's Liberation Army moves smoothly, Hu Lian and Huang Wei will not escape justice. At that time, Hu Lian was driving a tank to frantically flee to Bengbu, but he was constantly intercepted by the People's Liberation Army on the road, and was soon discovered.
On the battlefield, there were more and more People's Liberation Army chasing Hu Lian, but the fuel for the tank was becoming more and more limited, making it difficult for Hu Lian to escape pursuit.
When the Kuomintang soldiers saw that the commander was wounded, they did not hesitate and immediately took action to help him walk to the river. It was at this critical moment that they happened to meet a boatman.
In order to get them safely to the opposite bank as soon as possible, the Kuomintang soldiers held their guns against the boatmen. The battle ended with the total annihilation of the Huang Wei Corps by the PLA, which was a wonderful victory.
However, it is regrettable that Hu Lian, then the deputy commander of the corps, managed to escape. After the war, Yang Yong, commander of the First Column of Nakano, said: "It would be our honor if we could capture Hu Lian alive instead of capturing ten Huang Wei." ”
So, why did Yang Yong say this? Let's take a look at Hu Lian's "brilliant deeds".
Hu Lian was a rare general in Chiang Kai-shek's clique, and his heroic performance led him to be appointed as the head of the Shuangdui Group to guide Huang Wei's corps at a critical moment. In the War of Resistance Against Japan, he adopted the tactic of "breaking the cauldron and sinking the boat", and took the lead in writing a suicide note to boost morale, and finally succeeded in defeating the Japanese army.
Therefore, he was promoted to deputy commander of the 18th Army.
During the War of Liberation, Hu Lian was an outstanding general, and he faced his opponents on the battlefield like an opponent in chess. In 1947, the army led by Chiang Kai-shek quickly moved south to Shandong, however, the PLA had already mastered Chiang's battle plan through intelligence and formulated a well-thought-out response strategy.
When Chiang Kai-shek learned of this, he was both surprised and slightly surprised, because he had been looking for the main force of the People's Liberation Army before, and at this time, even if he wanted to attack, he could not accurately judge the movement of the main force of the People's Liberation Army.
Zhang Lingfu thought that he had seized the "great opportunity" of the decisive battle, but the terrain of Menglianggu made it impossible for him to build a strong defensive line. The PLA's artillery fire was extremely accurate and destroyed his troops.
However, the Kuomintang reinforcements were intrigued and could not form effective support. In the end, Zhang Lingfu's troops were almost completely wiped out. Su Yu keenly seized this opportunity and turned to Hu Lian's troops.
However, Hu Lian reacted quickly and led his troops to successfully break through.
In the battle of Meng Lianggu, Zhang Lingfu came to a curtain call, but Hu Lian rose again a month later. After this battle, Chiang Kai-shek's army did not rest, but launched another offensive, quickly occupying Nanma, an important point in Shandong.
Nanma is a battleground for soldiers, and Hu Lian expected that the People's Liberation Army would definitely meet **, so he immediately deployed defense. The People's Liberation Army won a complete victory in the Battle of Menglianggu, and its morale was greatly boosted, and the whole army was full of confidence, hoping to stage the "Battle of Menglianggu" again in Nanma.
Hu Lian learned the lesson of Zhang Lingfu's failure and made full defensive preparations for Nanma. At the same time, Chiang Kai-shek also realized the importance of support, and strictly ordered all officers to give full support, otherwise the commanders of the divisions would be severely punished.
After a week of fierce fighting, Hu Lian's division headquarters did not suffer heavy losses, but the PLA paid a lot of price. Under these circumstances, the enemy's reinforcements were pressing forward step by step, and in order to avoid being attacked from inside and outside, the PLA had no choice but to temporarily withdraw from the battlefield, which was a small defeat.
In 1947, our army launched an encirclement of the Kuomintang troops near Cao County, and upon learning of this news, Chiang Kai-shek immediately sent Hu Lian to support.
Hu Lian, cunning as a fox, sensed the danger and decisively set up camp near Dayiji and Tushanji, building fortifications, making it difficult for the PLA to succeed. Despite the PLA's hard attack, in these three days of fierce fighting, it failed to achieve significant results and had no choice but to withdraw its troops.
Hu Lian's cunning allowed him to avoid falling into the PLA"Pocket array", even if his divisional headquarters is called"Ace", and was not completely annihilated. In contrast, Huang Wei seems"Honestly"Many, eventually captured.
On the battlefield, the most frightening thing is this kind of generals with a lot of ideas, and their surprise will seriously affect the battle situation. Yang Yong said these words, which is a warning to this kind of cunning general.
General Yang Yong's regret once troubled him, but Hu Lian found his stage in the Kinmen area. He strengthened the defenses, known as the "King of Kinmen", accumulated grain, dug deep holes, and built countless open and hidden forts, successfully weakening the effect of the People's Liberation Army's artillery bombardment of Kinmen.
His efforts and talents have finally been recognized.
In 1958, Hu Lian narrowly escaped death in an artillery fire. That night, he also washed the dust for several Kuomintang **, but because he drank too much, he decided to return to the headquarters to rest.
However, the PLA's artillery fire suddenly fell on Kinmen Island, and even the nearby US Navy was surprised. The U.S. Department of Naval Communications contacted Kinmen the next day to ask if there were survivors.
Hu Lian called back with only one word: "Yes". Although Hu Lian suffered only a few skin injuries in this incident, his fate was undoubtedly more fortunate than that of several of his colleagues.
As a complex and cunning figure, he made great contributions in the War of Resistance Against Japan, but he also hindered the pace of people's liberation. In his later years, he regained his composure and fell in love with studying ancient books and history.
Hu Lian once said before his death that his life was focused on only two things - fighting and learning. However, the Kuomintang general died of myocardial infarction in June 1977, and although he had turned the corner of danger many times and escaped from the brink of life and death again and again, he still could not resist the invasion of the disease.