On November 6, 1948, our army launched the Huaihai Campaign. On the third day of the battle, that is, on November 8, 1948, a piece of ** news suddenly came out of the front that shocked the whole country: He Jifeng, deputy commander of the Kuomintang Third Appeasement Zone, and Zhang Kexia led two armies and three and a half divisionsThe sudden uprising of more than 30,000 people greatly affected the development of the war situation. Later, Su Yu pointed out that if Huang Baitao's corps had been released four hours later, the outcome of the Huaihai Battle might have been different.
At 24 o'clock on November 18, 1948, ** drafted a telegram sent to Su Yu and ** for the Military Commission, saying: The uprising of He and Zhang on the northern front was the first major victory in the Huaihai Campaign.
The Chairman, Commander-in-Chief praised the uprising as "extremely helpful to the development of the revolutionary war."
Carefully planned, prepared to infiltrate the enemy camp, and secretly connected with special party members Zhang Kexia and He Jifeng.
After the victory of the Battle of Jinan, the leaders summed up and spoke highly of the two basic experiences of the Kuomintang heavy army group: first, the combat method of "attacking and reinforcing the Kuomintang"; The second is to win over the Kuomintang army to hold a battlefield uprising.
As the Commander-in-Chief said:
Wu Huawen's uprising, we cannot underestimate, played a considerable role in our capture of Jinan. In the future, such an uprising will be needed. ”
The above-mentioned spirit, especially this passage, has an important guiding role for our army to vigorously carry out covert struggle in the Huaihai Campaign. It is against this background that Shu Tong, member of the Standing Committee of the East China Bureau and director of the Political Department of the East China Military Region, met with Yang Side, director of the Liaison Department of the 13th Column of the Huaye Column and head of the Political Department, in Yidu, Shandong, where the East China Bureau is located, and laid out a very urgent and important mission.
Shu Tong said to Yang Side
After the Battle of Jinan, the next step is to fight a big battle together to annihilate the Liu Zhi group centered on Xuzhou. In order to cooperate with this campaign, it was necessary to secretly instigate the troops of the Kuomintang Third Appeasement Zone stationed in the northeast of Xuzhou to revolt at the beginning of the campaign. Your task is to convey General Chen's instructions to Zhang Kexia and He Jifeng, deputy commanders of the Third Pacification Zone, in the name of Commander ** and representatives of the East China Military Region. The two of them have a relationship that they directly grasp, and through them we can learn about our party's past work in the ministry. Find out the attitude of the senior generals of the department, and win over some or most of the uprising of the department when the war is imminent. ”
However, Shu Tong still had reservations about Yang Side, and did not tell him, for example, he only said that Zhang Kexia and He Jifeng were the upper-level relationships directly controlled by ***, but did not say a word to break that the two of them were underground CCP members who had been lurking in the enemy camp for a long time; For example, the name of the battle is Huaihai Campaign, which is not directly specified.
Yang Side immediately rushed to the headquarters of the East China Field Army and received a specific task from Chief of Staff Chen Shiyu.
Chen Shiyu explained to Yang Side: The key to the battle is that it must be cut off from the middle, and it is absolutely impossible to let Huang Baitao, Qiu and Li gather together.
In this way, we can form a situation of "closing the door and fighting dogs" against Huang Baitao's corps, and we can win the victory, completely annihilate the corps, and successfully complete the tasks of the first phase of the campaign. The 59th Army and the 77th Army of the Kuomintang Third Appeasement Zone, with a total of 4 divisions and a total number of 30,000 people, were deployed along the canals such as Jiawang and Taierzhuang, which were the barriers to the north of Liu Zhi's headquarters in Xuzhou and Huang Baitao's corps, blocking the way for our army to move south. If they resist stubbornly and our army's southward movement is blocked, it will be delayed. If you let go of Huang Baitao's corps and let him escape to Xuzhou to get together with Qiu Qingquan and Li Mi, it will be troublesome. As soon as the campaign is launched in the future, our main forces will quickly seize the various crossings of the canal, and we have always given military strikes to the forefront. If you go to the Third Appeasement Zone this time, if you can let Zhang Kexia and He Jifeng lead the unit to revolt in front of the formation, and remove this "roadblock," it is bound to greatly speed up the southward movement of our army, and this will play a key role in accomplishing the combat mission of the first phase of the Huaihai Campaign.
Then, the Huaye Enemy Engineering Department and Yang Side studied the specific work plan for infiltrating the enemy's Sansui District, including the route to be taken, the contact points to be used on the way, the first target to come into contact with after entering the enemy camp, as well as the appearance, characteristics, personality, temper, experience, and relationship between Zhang Kexia and He Jifeng, as well as the historical evolution of the troops in the Sansui District, ......This is not only for the sake of the victory of the work, but also for the safety of Young's personal life.
Zhang Kexia went undercover in the enemy camp for 20 years, and was promoted to lieutenant general without being recognized.
After Yang Side infiltrated Xuzhou, he met with Zhang Kexia accompanied by Sun Bingchao, an enemy cadre.
Zhang Kexia is calm, sophisticated, thoughtful and meticulous, and does not say much, but every word is well thought out. This was tempered by Zhang's long-term lurking in the enemy camp.
After graduating from the Baoding Army Military Academy, Zhang Kexia joined Feng Yuxiang's army.
In the spring of 1927, he went to Moscow to study and entered Sun Yat-sen University.
In 1928, Zhang Kexia left the Soviet Union and returned to China, before leaving, through his classmate Zhang Cunshi, he asked to join the party, and the party organization hoped that he would continue to fight after returning to China.
More than a year later, Zhang Cunshi sent a letter informing Zhang Kexia to go to Shanghai to contact the party organization.
After some time, the party organization sent someone to officially inform Zhang Kexia:
* You have been approved as a member of the Communist Party, you are a special party member, you should not have relations with local party organizations, you should not casually reveal your party membership to others, you must strictly guard the party's secrets, and abide by the party's discipline. ”
He also prescribed the method of secret contact with the party to Zhang Kexia, and determined that the pseudonym he used when writing the letter was "Zhang Guangyuan."
In the early summer of 1946, Zhang Kexia rushed to Nanjing to meet secretly with *** near the Feng Mansion. They were in the same car, Zhang Kexia stepped into the car, sat next to ***, and the car started quickly.
Zhang Kexia reported the situation in Xuzhou to *** in the car.
Zhou instructed Zhang: At present, it is necessary to explain our party's policies and point out the way out to the officers and men of Chiang, especially those high-ranking generals and those who lead the troops. Chiang Kai-shek was bound to fight a civil war. He wants to fight, and we will fight with him. Not only will we fight back against them on the battlefield, but we will also strike at the diehards from within, and strive to instigate an uprising among high-ranking generals and large troops. In this way, it can create more momentum and break the morale of the enemy. ”
Zhang Kexia also reported to ***:
The troops in the 3rd Pacification Zone, to which I belong, have been with me for a long time, and they are very familiar with and trust each other, and they will obey my orders and obey my movements if needed. Besides, most of the officers and men realized that there was no way out for the Kuomintang and that there was a basis for the uprising. As long as the party gives the order, I can guarantee an uprising at any time. ”
Zhang Kexia also made a request to ***, hoping that party liaison personnel would come to assist him in carrying out his work, so as to ensure the smooth progress of the uprising and properly handle all kinds of complicated situations.
** expressed his approval, and said that he would inform ** Comrade ** to send someone to contact you.
After the incident, ** quickly sent a secret telegram to the East China Bureau, giving instructions on carrying out secret work in Sansui District.
Zhang Kexia led 2After the success of the uprising of 30,000 people, a Hong Kong newspaper said:
For 20 years from 1929 to 1948, Zhang Kexia has been lurking in the ** Zhongzhong, and the official has reached the deputy commander of the Lieutenant General of the Appeasement Zone. His secret connection with the CCP has never been discovered, and he had a secret conversation with *** on the streets of Nanjing before Xu Beng's battle led his troops to join the CCP, and it was not discovered, which shows that their hidden activities are quite successful. ”
He Jifeng lurked in the enemy camp for 10 years, skillfully maneuvered, and laid the foundation for leading the uprising.
After Yang Side and Zhang Kexia secretly discussed the issue of the uprising in Xuzhou, Zhang Kexia proposed that the Dutianmiao barracks where he lived had frequent personnel exchanges and strict spy surveillance, and Yang and Sun were strangers from outside, with big targets.
For this reason, the two should have falsely claimed that they were sent by the Nanjing Ministry of National Defense. Yang Side is a high counselor, named "Chen Huiguo"; Sun Bingchao is the secretary of the "Gao Shen", named "Li Mengyun".
Then, Zhang Kexia quickly brought them the costumes of the Kuomintang army, so that Yang and Sun could enter and leave the enemy camp smoothly.
Yang Side said that he would bring back everything Zhang Kexia talked about and report it to the East China Bureau and the head of Huaye.
Zhang Kexia said: Deputy Commander He Jifeng lives at the Jiawang frontline command post, and there are not as many spies there as in Xuzhou, so it is relatively safe; I will send someone to send the two of you to Jiawang, so that you can listen to Deputy Commander He's opinions in person and see the actual situation of the troops. ”
He Jifeng was a lieutenant general of the Kuomintang and held the high position of deputy commander of the Sansui District. Before that, he had already become an underground member of the CCP and had been lurking in the enemy camp for 10 years.
In 1933, during the Anti-Japanese War on the Xifengkou Great Wall, He Jifeng served as the deputy brigade commander of the Northwest Army and led his troops to defeat the Japanese invading army. In the July 7 Incident, the Jixingwen Regiment led by him fired the first shot of the National War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and He Jifeng personally went to the front line to command, and his reputation spread far and wide, and he was known as a famous anti-Japanese general.
However, due to Chiang Kai-shek's policy of non-resistance, He Jifeng led the 179th Division to withdraw after three days and two nights of bloody battles in Daimyo, Hebei. He was heartbroken, looking up to the sky and sighing:
The enemy is not to be feared, the policy of non-resistance is terrible! He hated the Kuomintang for losing power and humiliating the country, and felt that there was no way to serve the country, so he pulled out a gun and killed himself, with a note beside him that had not dried ink, which read: "I can't go back to Beiping for New Year's Day, and I have no shame to Yan Zhao's father!" ”
He Jifeng later came to Wuhan to recuperate from his injuries and met with *** and other CCP leaders.
** Hold He Jifeng's hand tightly and say:
Your Northwest Army really deserves to be the vanguard of resistance against Japan! And warmly welcome He Jifeng to Yan'an to have a look. ”
He Jifeng, the office of the Eighth Route Army in Wuhan, carefully arranged a plan for a "private visit to Yan'an".
On the way, He disguised himself and went through hardships and dangers, and finally arrived in Yan'an in January 1938.
In Yan'an, ** personally came to He Jifeng's residence to visit, praised He for his resolute achievements in the anti-Japanese war at Lugou Bridge, and later invited He Jifeng to give a report to Northern Shaanxi Public School.
He Jifeng personally felt the wisdom of the policies of the Communist Party of China in Yan'an, and also saw the destiny of life.
He often said to people that this unforgettable trip to Yan'an was a key turning point in his life.
On the eve of leaving Yan'an, He Jifeng solemnly submitted an application to join the Chinese Communist Party.
He wrote passionately:
I was an old soldier in the Kuomintang army. In the past, I always thought that civilian officials do not love money, military attaches are not afraid of death, and everyone is honest and honest, and our country will become rich and strong. ”
However, ** did not approve Ho Jifeng to join the party, but asked him to still return to work in the Kuomintang army.
On the occasion of parting, ** cordially hoped that he would "grasp the troops after returning and resolutely resist to the end".
In January 1939, by the decision of the Special Committee of the Communist Party of China in Southern Henan, Zhu Dapeng was sent to Gucheng, Hubei Province to absorb He Jifeng as a special member of the Communist Party of China.
Zhu Dapeng later changed his name to Zhu Jun, was awarded the rank of major general in 1955, and retired as the president of the Nanjing Naval Academy.
I have visited him several times. Zhu Dapeng told He Jifeng at that time that the so-called special party members are only the party's organizational life, and the party has a one-line relationship with you.
He Jifeng expressed his determination to obey the party's command and vowed to fight for the great cause of resisting Japan and saving the country and realizing communism.
In the extremely difficult and dangerous environment, he fought wits and courage with the Kuomintang on several occasions, which made He Jifeng realize that he must be extremely careful in doing the party's underground work under the nose of the enemy, and he must not be negligent at all, otherwise his head will fall to the ground.
After He Jifeng led the 77th Army to Xuzhou in September 1945, he was appointed deputy commander of the Third Pacification Zone.
In September 1946, He Jifeng proposed to work in the Beiping Military Adjustment Department at the same time) that he hoped to return to work in the liberated areas.
**Analyzed the current situation to him and pointed out: You ask to come back, this matter is very important, I personally can't be the master, I want to report to Yan'an, please decide. However, in my opinion, it is not the right time for you to come back, so it is better to return to the original army. When you go back, you should remain as before, and be secluded and not exposed. At the critical moment, you must resolutely and resolutely lead the troops to revolt, and when the time comes, Comrade ** will send someone to contact you.
In the summer of 1948, Feng Zhi'an assigned He Jifeng to be in charge of the forward command post set up in Jiawang.
However, he was not at ease with He, and set up a guard unit of more than 2,000 people, and designated Liu Zizhen, the lieutenant general of the cadre training class, to take charge of it, and He Jifeng could not ask.
He Jifeng has learned Feng Zhi'an's method of "divide and conquer and monitor behind the scenes" many times, and privately said to Li Liancheng, an enemy cadre of the East China Bureau who was lurking around him:
It doesn't matter if they are gone, there are no tigers in the mountains, and the monkeys are kings. It would be better for these turtle bastards to withdraw away from us, and it would be more conducive to our preparations for the uprising. ”
Zhang Kexia inspected the front more than once, and met with He Jifeng in Jiawang, ** once told He Jifeng: "Regarding the organization of the uprising, you can discuss it with Zhang Kexia, he is very reliable." ”
He Jifeng understood in his heart that although the two of them are not in a horizontal relationship, they tacitly understand each other, work hard, and are like-minded.
One day, Zhang Kexia whispered to He Jifeng:
At this critical juncture, it is necessary to deal with it in a particularly meticulous and prudent manner. Feng Zhi'an, Liu Zhen.
3. Wang Changhai These three people have their own plans, and they have different dreams in the same bed. We must make good use of their contradictions and secretly make all preparations for the uprising. Recently, Feng Zhi'an suggested to Chiang Kai-shek that all the families of the officers in Sansui District should be sent to Suzhou and Zhenjiang, under the name of concern, but in fact they were taken hostages, so as to tie everyone up and prevent incidents like Wu Huawen's. ”
At this time, Feng Zhi'an was plotting to send the families of the officers in Sansui District to Jiangnan. This move was really vicious, which made the officers worry about the future and caused great difficulties in winning them to revolt.
The Huaihai Campaign is about to be launched, and it is urgent to organize an uprising of the troops in the Sansui District. The Huaye liaison department sent Sun Bingchao to Jiawang in a hurry to convey the party's instructions to He Jifeng that this difficult problem must be resolved as soon as possible.
Last year, He Jifeng sent Li Liancheng to Shanghai and deposited more than 200 taels of his savings over the years into the Macquarie Bank opened by the British.
After receiving the instructions of the party organization, He Jifeng immediately sent Li Liancheng to Shanghai to retrieve more than 200 taels**, and distributed most of them to the officers, so that they could send reliable personnel to quietly bring back their families from Jiangnan, so as to eliminate their worries.
He Jifeng resolutely carried out the uprising demands put forward by the East China Bureau, holding that the 77 th Army was his old unit, that the uprising was more certain, and that the 59 th Army would have greater difficulties; after study, it was decided to use the 132nd Division of the 77 th Army (division commander Guo Jiafang was an underground member of the CPC) and the 111th Regiment of the 37 th Division (regiment commander Zhang Zhaofu was an underground CPC member) as the basis to prepare for a pre-battle uprising, and at the same time strive for the 59 th Army to act together.
In order to secretly organize an uprising in the heart of the enemy, it is necessary to have a strong leadership core, and in addition to closely relying on Zhang Kexia and He Jifeng, two special party members, a temporary party branch was also set up, with Yang Side as the person in charge, and the members were Sun Bingchao, Li Liancheng, Wang Shijiang, and Feng Zhizhong (commander of the artillery company of the second battalion of the 111th Regiment). Since then, the preparations for the uprising of the troops in the Sansui District have been carried out more intensely, enthusiastically, covertly, and in a planned manner.
Yang Side returned to the liberated area at the end of October and reported to Su Yu and Chen Shiyu, believing that the intention of Huaye's leadership to win over one or most of the uprising in Sansui District could be realized.
** Praise the uprising of He Jifeng and Zhang Kexia on the northern front, which is called the first great victory in the Huaihai Campaign.
On November 4, 1948, the East China Field Army issued an attack order for the Huaihai Campaign, and all armies advanced from Tengxian, Feixian, Xiangcheng, and Ganyu to the Huaihai land.
At about 3 o'clock in the afternoon of the 4th, Yang Side and Sun Bingchao secretly infiltrated the Kuomintang military defense area on the north bank of the canal and went straight to Jiawang.
After Yang Side and Sun Bingchao arrived, they conveyed the instructions of the head of Huaye to He Jifeng, asking the two armies of Sansui District to revolt when the Huaihai Campaign was launched, get out of the canal defense line, and strive to control the bridges on the canal line, such as Hanzhuang, Wannian Gate, and Taierzhuang, to ensure that our army quickly and smoothly crossed the river and went south. Ho Jifeng said that there was no problem with the uprising. However, it seems difficult to ensure that the Hanzhuang Bridge and Taierzhuang Bridge are under control, because Feng Zhi'an may order to replace his cronies to guard the bridge.
After secret discussions throughout the night, the contact methods at the time of the uprising, the identification marks at night, the issue of vigilance, the place of concentration and the route of movement of the troops after the uprising, the position of the self-defense and the several liaison cadres sent by our side were determined, and it was agreed that the bridges should be captured with the greatest efforts.
It was also determined that the contact password of the insurrectionary forces was "Yang Side troops", and they wore cotton clothes at night, and the flashlights were turned off three times.
Preparations for the uprising entered the final stage.
On November 6, Yang Side officially informed He Jifeng that the Huaihai Campaign was about to be launched. Preparations are in the final stages.
On the evening of the 7th, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) attacked on all fronts with overwhelming momentum.
Because Yang Side sent people to get in touch with the Huaye Seventh Column in advance and forced the 59th Army to surrender with military pressure, the two assault regiments of the Seventh Column braved the drizzle and began to cross the river, and soon seized the Yuewan River Bridge, annihilated more than 2,000 enemies, and occupied a favorable position on the south bank.
Another main regiment quickly seized the two bridges north and south of the Wannian Gate, broke through the canal defense line, completely annihilated a battalion of the 59th Army, and forced the enemy to withdraw to the south bank.
After receiving the report, Feng Zhi'an panicked, severely reprimanded the 59th Army, and ordered the recapture of the Wannian Gate within a time limit, otherwise, the army's chief of staff Liu Jingyue, Cui Zhenlun, and Yang Gansan, two division commanders, would be "dealt with by military law."
Under such a situation in which there was a strong enemy in front and there was no way to retreat, some officers of the 59th Army were terrified, and after Meng Shaolian took advantage of the situation and patiently persuaded them, Liu Jingyue, Cui Zhenlun, Yang Gansan, and the heads of various divisions of the military headquarters all agreed to the uprising.
He Jifeng rushed to the military headquarters of the 59th Army in time and addressed the officers present.
The 59th Army was Zhang Kexia's old unit, and Zhang Kexia was "under house arrest" in Xuzhou by Feng Zhi'an at this time. On the evening of the 7th, an important military meeting was being held in the Feng Zhi'an Mansion.
Suddenly, the ringtone rang, He Jifeng asked Zhang Kexia to speak from the front line of Jia Wang, Zhang Kexia took over the machine, He Jifeng only said one sentence:
Someone is going to talk to you. ”
Then came Youngside's voice from **:
Please ask Deputy Commander Zhang to rush to the front as soon as possible. Make the last effort to get Feng Zhi'an to come to ...... together”
* The machine is facing the door of the conference room, and the people in the meeting are holding their breath and listening to Zhang Kexia's beating**, at this time, every information from the front line is related to their net worth and life.
As soon as Zhang Kexia heard it, he understood that the time for the uprising had come!
But he knows very well that the situation is very dangerous at this moment, and the slightest negligence will expose the matter, and the whole situation may suffer irreparable losses.
So he clinged to the ** machine and only whispered one sentence:
We are now in a meeting, and we will try to go early after the meeting. ”
Chief of Staff Chen Jiyan, who has a particularly keen sense of smell, has been staring at Zhang Kexia. As soon as Zhang Kexia put down the ** machine, he hurriedly asked: "Who called?" What's going on ahead for you to go? ”
Zhang Kexia said: It's Deputy Commander He's **, the front is very nervous, and he wants me to go early. ”
At this time, Feng Zhi'an was entertaining Qiu Qingquan and other senior Kuomintang generals in a high-end hotel, and did not return to the mansion until more than 12 o'clock at night. He inquired about the meeting, and said that he did not agree with Zhang Kexia to go to the front, and of course he himself did not agree to go to the front to command.
The sky was light, Zhang Kexia took a retinue of cronies, got into a jeep and galloped straight to the north gate of Xuzhou. At that time, Xuzhou was under martial law, and vehicles and crowds waiting to leave the city were crowded at the fence entrance.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Zhang Kexia ordered the driver to drive straight to the checkpoint, and the entourage adjutant said loudly
The commander has something urgent to go to the front! ”
As soon as the sentry saw a dignified lieutenant general sitting in the car, he immediately let him go.
Zhang Kexia broke out of the cage and successfully reached the front, sweeping away the last obstacle to the uprising, and the main officers of the 59th Army had met with Yang Side in the morning. Seeing Zhang Kexia coming, they further eliminated their concerns.
In order to prevent contingencies, He Jifeng, Zhang Kexia, and Yang Side, after consultations, decided to advance the time of the uprising originally planned for 12 noon on 8 November by two hours, and sent people to contact our troops in the front and ask them to continue to advance in order to prevent the undetermined elements in the Sansui District troops from escaping.
At 10 o'clock in the morning of November 8, 1948, two divisions of the 59th Army of the Kuomintang, one division and one regiment of the 77th Army, with a total of 23,000 people, held high the banner of righteousness and revolted gloriously in front of the battle.
This uprising opened the northern gateway of Xuzhou, opened the canal defense line from Taierzhuang to Weishan Lake for our army in one fell swoop, and forced Li Mi's corps, which covered the westward retreat of Huang Baitao's corps, to return to Xuzhou, thus giving way to the defense line of the Bulao River. In this way, the main force of the Shandong Corps of the East China Field Army smoothly moved south without the threat of enemy fire and the blockage of rivers, and quickly cut off the westward escape route of Huang Baitao's corps, turning the Yellow Corps into a turtle in an urn.
When talking about the feat of He Jifeng and Zhang Kexia leading the two armies to revolt, Su Yu once pointed out: If Huang Baitao's corps had been released four hours later, the result of the Huaihai Battle might have been different.
At 24 o'clock on November 18, 1948, ** drafted a telegram sent to Su Yu and ** for the Military Commission, saying: The uprising of He and Zhang on the northern front was the first major victory in the Huaihai Campaign.
The Chairman, Commander-in-Chief praised the uprising as "extremely helpful to the development of the revolutionary war."
The rebel forces were later organized into two armies, known as the "118th Force".
He Jifeng and Zhang Kexia were appointed as army commanders and went to the front line of Anqiu and Zhucheng to prevent the Kuomintang army in Qingdao from attacking when our troops in the liberated area of Shandong were empty. Later, he went to the front line of the Yellow River to set up defenses to prevent the Kuomintang troops in North China from escaping south. They did both with great success.
After the victory of the Huaihai Campaign, in accordance with the order of the ** Military Commission of the Communist Party of China, the East China Field Army was changed to the Third Field Army, and the column number was revoked and changed to an army.
The troops of the Jiawang uprising were ordered to be reorganized into the 33rd and 34th Armies.
Zhang Kexia served as the commander of the 33rd Army, and He Jifeng served as the commander of the 34th Army.
The generals of the uprising, Meng Shaolian, Guo Jiafang, and Yang Gan.
3. Cui Zhenlun and others, who served as deputy army commander and division commander respectively, participated in the battle of crossing the Yangtze River and the Nanjing-Shanghai-Hangzhou campaign, and made contributions to the establishment of New China.