Hu Lian, a first-class general in the Kuomintang Army, died of illness in June 1977. Recalling the past days, Hu Lian is always full of emotion. There were three major crises in his career, but he managed to overcome them all, and as a result, his old age was relatively peaceful.
In his later years, Hu Lian summarized these three crises and revealed the reasons for his successful resolution. So, the three crises that Hu Lian experienced in his life, did he successfully resolve them by virtue of strength or luck?
Hu Lian: The fourth phase of Huangpu born from the countryside Hu Lian, a native of Huaxian County, Shaanxi, was born in an ordinary rural family in 1907. After graduating from middle school, he was successfully admitted to the fourth phase of the Whampoa Military Academy with his strong academic talent and outstanding military talent.
However, Chiang Kai-shek attached great importance to the generals of the previous periods of Whampoa, and did not care about the fourth phase of Whampoa like Hu Lian. Hu Lian didn't want to waste his life and decided to take refuge in Guan Linzheng and Chen Cheng.
With Guan Linzheng's attention and Chen Cheng's help, Hu Lian's career went smoothly and gradually gained Chiang Kai-shek's attention. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the 11th Division led by Hu Lian was already the elite unit of the Kuomintang.
In the 1943 Battle of Shipaizhen, he successfully resisted the Japanese attack.
During the battle, Hu Lian showed his outstanding military talents, and although the Japanese army was well-equipped and launched many attacks, the 11th Division led by Hu Lian did not flinch and successfully completed the mission.
After the war, Hu Lian became famous within the Kuomintang troops and became a general highly valued by Chiang Kai-shek. In recognition of him, Chiang Kai-shek awarded Hu Lian the Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun and appointed him commander of the 18th Army.
The Eighteenth Army was one of the five main forces of the Kuomintang, and Chiang Kai-shek's handing over such an important army to Hu Lian showed that he had regarded Hu Lian as a confidant. However, despite his military prowess, Hu Lian was also an active counter-revolutionary.
He participated in counter-revolutionary activities many times, and during the War of Liberation, Hu Lian was a fierce enemy of our army. In the Battle of Nanma, as the commander of the 18th Army, he actively built a military fortress in an attempt to block the attack of our army.
Although he encountered some difficulties, he eventually turned the tide, which undoubtedly had something to do with his good fortune.
Hu Lian's measures proved ineffective. **After learning of Hu Lian's defense plan in the Nanma area, he immediately mobilized five columns to surround the 18th Army.
By the time Hu Lian realized it, he was unable to reverse the situation. Although Hu Lian organized several charges, they had little effect. If it continues, the 18th Army will soon be annihilated by our army.
However, just as our army was preparing to launch a general attack, it suddenly began to rain heavily in the sky, and what was even more unexpected was that the rain continued for seven days and seven nights. The sudden rainstorm had a huge impact on our army, a large amount of ammunition was soaked in rainwater, which meant that the ammunition was scrapped due to the underdevelopment of technology.
As a result, the time of the general offensive of our army was constantly delayed. By the time the rain had stopped, the best time to attack had passed, and by this time our soldiers and horses were exhausted, and reinforcements from the Kuomintang troops had arrived.
In desperation, our army had no choice but to retreat. It was this rain that enabled Hu Lian to avoid the first major crisis. It can be seen that Hu Lian's ability to turn the corner has nothing to do with his personal ability, it is entirely because of good luck.
In 1948, the Battle of Huaihai broke out. Huang Wei, commander of the 12th Corps, and Hu Lian, deputy commander of the 12th Corps, were both surrounded by our army, and they could be eliminated before dawn. Huang Wei and Hu Lian were very aware of this, so they each launched a fierce charge in their tanks in an attempt to break out of the encirclement of our army.
At that time, tanks were extremely lethal, and as long as they did not break down, they could easily break out of the encirclement. Therefore, our army mobilized a large number of troops to intercept Huang Wei and Hu Lian's tanks.
However, unexpectedly, the tank that Huang Wei was riding on broke down, and he was so frightened that he immediately abandoned the tank and fled on foot. But he didn't go far before he was captured by our troops.
Without tanks as cover, Huang Wei could not escape the encirclement of our army at all. In contrast, Hu Lian's luck was much better. His tank did not break down, and under the protection of the tank, he managed to break out of the encirclement of our troops and found a ship on the north bank of the vortex river, which allowed him to escape.
Therefore, Hu Lian's ability to turn danger into a disaster has little to do with his personal ability. His luck was better than Huang Wei's, so he was not captured by our army. Otherwise, his fate should be similar to Huang Wei.
When shelling Kinmen, Hu Lian once again escaped the life-and-death crisis with good luck.
1.Hu Lian was again saved in the shelling of Kinmen, when he had fled to Taiwan with Chiang Kai-shek and was ordered to garrison Kinmen. In order to solve the Taiwan issue, ** ordered the shelling of Kinmen.
Soon after, the PLA was assembled and prepared to carry out artillery bombardment of the Kuomintang troops stationed in Kinmen. Chiang Kai-shek sensed this change and knew that Kinmen was the only way to liberate Taiwan, so he sent heavy troops to guard it and put Hu Lian and other senior generals in charge.
However, Hu Lian was not worried about the fact that the PLA did not have a strong navy and air force, and was not worried about the shelling of Kinmen. On August 23 of the same year, he felt that Chiang Kai-shek was too worried and that Kinmen was impregnable and there was no need to worry, so he drank with the three deputy commanders.
As a result, Hu Lian was drunk, and the other three deputy commanders were also drunk and unconscious. Just when Hu Lian was drunk, the People's Liberation Army launched the first round of shelling.
The loud ** sound made him wake up instantly, and he immediately went to the basement and escaped, but the other three deputy commanders had no such luck, and they were all killed by shells.
2.Hu Lian saved the day during the shelling of Kinmen, when he had fled to Taiwan with Chiang Kai-shek and was ordered to garrison Kinmen. In order to solve the Taiwan issue, ** ordered the shelling of Kinmen.
Soon after, the PLA was assembled and prepared to carry out artillery bombardment of the Kuomintang troops stationed in Kinmen. Chiang Kai-shek sensed this change and knew that Kinmen was the only way to liberate Taiwan, so he sent heavy troops to guard it and put Hu Lian and other senior generals in charge.
However, Hu Lian was not worried about the fact that the PLA did not have a strong navy and air force, and was not worried about the shelling of Kinmen. On August 23 of the same year, he felt that Chiang Kai-shek was too worried and that Kinmen was impregnable and there was no need to worry, so he drank with the three deputy commanders.
As a result, Hu Lian was drunk, and the other three deputy commanders were also drunk and unconscious. Just when Hu Lian was drunk, the People's Liberation Army launched the first round of shelling.
The loud ** sound made him wake up instantly, and he immediately went to the basement and escaped, but the other three deputy commanders had no such luck, and they were all killed by shells.
Hu Lian managed to defuse the third crisis, thanks both to his luck and to his personal ability. Compared with other commanders, Hu Lian's reaction speed is indeed faster.
In his later years, he summed up his many experiences of escaping death, which boiled down to the words "alert and calm", in addition, he also needed the favor of good luck. With his ingenuity and calm judgment, Hu Lian has successfully coped with many crises.
His experience proves that it is not enough to be "alert and calm", but also to have a little bit of good luck. This is the secret of his success that he summed up in his later years.