During the War of Liberation, Siye launched an important battle in the process of advancing into the Guannai, which is the famous Battle of Hengbao. This battle took place in September 1949, Siye successfully annihilated the main force of the Gui system, the "Steel Seventh Army", and captured the army's chief of staff Deng Dazhi and division commander Zhang Ruisheng and other senior generals.
The victory in the Battle of Hengbao marked Siye's successful control of the southern region of Hunan. After the battle, although Li Benyi, the commander of the "Steel Seventh Army", led the remnants to flee back to Guangxi, he was eventually captured by the People's Liberation Army and executed in 1951.
It is said that in this battle, the "Seventh Army of Steel" originally had the opportunity to escape from the encirclement of the PLA, but because Li Benyi did not carry out Bai Chongxi's order, the army was completely annihilated by Siye.
The "Seventh Army of Steel", the full name of which is the Seventh Army of the National Revolutionary Army, originated from the elite troops of the Gui system - Guangxi Dinggui Thief Coalition Army. Under the leadership of Li Zongren and Huang Shaohong, this unit was reorganized in 1926 and officially became the Seventh Army of the National Revolutionary Army, and Li Zongren was appointed as the first commander.
Since then, the Seventh Army has galloped across the battlefield and participated in a series of major battles such as the Northern Expedition, the Ninghan War, the Chiang-Gui War, the Central Plains War, and the War of Resistance Against Japan. With its strong combat effectiveness, the Seventh Army has won the reputation of the "Steel Army" and is known as the "trump card unit" of the Gui system.
As the "trump card troops" of the Gui family, Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi poured a lot of effort into it, and appointed their henchmen as army commanders. However, this situation changed during the Battle of Hengbao in 1949, when the commander of the "Seventh Army of Steel" happened to be Li Benyi.
Li Benyi, born in 1902 in a poor family in Rong County, Guangxi, emerged in the Gui army with his bravery and good fighting, and was appreciated by Bai Chongxi and promoted to the commander of the Seventh Army, taking charge of the Gui ace army, with outstanding military achievements.
In 1949, Li Benyi led the Seventh Army to defend Huangpi and Xiaogan, and after the battle of crossing the river, the "Seventh Army of Steel" went to the Hunan and Jiangxi border areas, but after the Hunan and Jiangxi battles, Li Benyi gave up holding on and went to the Hengbao area of Hunan.
It was also here that Li Benyi's "Steel Seventh Army" was completely wiped out by Siye. Before the Battle of Hengbao, the 12th Corps was responsible for the attack in the middle, and the 135th Division under the command of Ding Sheng always advanced until it crossed the Hengbao Highway and received the order to stop advancing.
At that time, Siye's 13th Corps was responsible for the attack on the West Road, but they did not follow Ding Sheng's pace, and as a result, only Ding Sheng's troops entered the south of the Hengbao Highway and fell into the dilemma of fighting alone.
When the news of Ding Sheng's lone army reaching the ears of the commander of Siye, he was taken aback. He immediately ordered the 13th Corps to continue to advance and prepare to cooperate with Ding Sheng's troops to encircle and annihilate the "Steel Seventh Army".
Bai Chongxi, who received the news, was also very nervous, he was known as "Little Zhuge " and was resourceful. He analyzed that if the 13th Corps of Siye and Ding Sheng's troops should be combined with each other, the "Seventh Army of Steel" would face the danger of being completely annihilated.
Therefore, he immediately commanded the retreat of the "Seventh Army of Steel" and ordered Li Benyi to retreat with the "Seventh Army of Steel" from the main road, that is, the Hengbao Highway.
Faced with the orders of his superiors, Li Benyi fell into hesitation. He was keenly aware of the danger of the "Steel Seventh Army" facing total annihilation, however, he had doubts about the choice of retreat route.
Bai Chongxi's suggestion was to retreat from the main road, but this road did not have any cover, and Siye was close at hand, if he retreated from the main road, wouldn't it be easier to be surrounded and annihilated?
Li Benyi was thoughtful and didn't know how to choose.
Li Benyi violated Bai Chongxi's instructions and retreated from the trail without authorization. However, he did not expect that Siye's troops were already waiting for him on the path. As a result, Li Benyi's troops were completely surrounded by Siye, and after fierce fighting, the "Steel Seventh Army" was completely annihilated, and although the army commander Li Benyi desperately escaped the encirclement, he still failed to escape the fate of being captured by the People's Liberation Army in the end.
In 1951, he was executed.