In 1949, ** returned to the northwest from Xibaipo, Beijing, Hu Zongnan's group had already dispersed, but he cleaned up the mess and launched the Shaanzhong Campaign to liberate Xi'an in one fell swoop.
Two years ago, ** predicted at the mobilization meeting to defend Yan'an and the border area: "As long as we eliminate the dozens of regiments that Hu Zongnan invaded the border area, Xi'an will be at our fingertips." ”
Now that the prophecy has come true, he lost no time in sweeping the southern part of Hu Zong, Xi'an was liberated, and Hu Zongnan fled to northern Sichuan, trapped in the beast. At this time, Chiang Kai-shek, like a gambler with a red eye, began to struggle desperately.
** smiled and said to Luo Yuanfa: "You have to use your brains and use some strategies to make the enemy mistakenly think that our 18th Corps and 19th Corps have arrived in Xi'an." ”
After hearing this, Luo Yuanfa suddenly realized, and immediately ordered the 6th Army stationed in Xi'an to look for houses in the city, and let the army go out of the city at night, and enter the city under the banner of the 18th and 19th Corps during the day.
Of course, this was not enough, and he personally held a press conference to stabilize people's minds. On the day of the reception, he went to the barber shop to get a haircut, shaved his beard, and then, accompanied by Gan Siqi, met with reporters from all walks of life at the city military management committee.
At the reception, he deliberately pretended to be crazy and stupid, and did not say a word about the current situation, but talked about the history of Zhuge Liang's five trips to Qishan, and even criticized the "Empty City Plan" in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
** After talking for more than two hours, and only left until his mouth was dry, the reporters were all wide-eyed in surprise and reluctant to leave for a long time.
In desperation, Gan Siqi revealed the plan to use the empty city plan, he said: "Mr. Peng hopes that reporters can make a big splash on the radio and newspapers to warn the enemy. ”
This news surprised the reporters, and they immediately understood General Peng's intentions, and with the theme of "Commander Peng Yiye welcomes Ma Jiyuan to Xi'an", he hyped up the wisdom and heroism of ***.
Obviously, this kind of propaganda has played a great role in calming the people's minds and deterring the enemy. The army of our North China Corps also arrived in Xi'an early in the morning of June 12 after several days of rapid marching.