Chapter 746 Gao Jingting Incident

Just when Shanshan Yuan, Yamashita Fengwen, and Muto Zhang were plotting together how to mobilize troops to sweep the base area of the Eighth Route Army, Liu Yimin was making the final preparations to sweep Jianghuai.

Historically, at this time, the New Fourth Army only had Gao Jingting's Fourth Detachment and Peng Xuefeng's guerrilla detachment in the Henan-Anhui region, and the Eighth Route Army was only a part of the 115th Division's eastward advance troops to develop in the Suzhou-Anhui region.

In terms of the enemy situation, the enemy situation in the Suzhou-Anhui region at this time was also different from history, because Liu Yimin twice led the troops to the south and mobilized the main force of the Japanese army to leave Shandong, resulting in the Japanese army's sweeping efforts in the Suzhou-Anhui region greatly exceeded that in history, basically all the county towns fell into the hands of the Japanese puppet army, and many bandit armed forces and local forces were either eliminated or thrown into the arms of the Japanese army under the blow of the Japanese heavy army group. In northern and central Jiangsu, the headquarters of the 24th Group Army commanded by Han Deqin suffered heavy losses under the attack of the Japanese army, and was confined to the Yancheng and Funing areas to join forces with the Northern Jiangsu Detachment of the Eighth Route Army to fight against the Japanese puppet army. Three cavalry battalions of the Eighth Route Army fought guerrilla attacks in the Soviet Union and China, threatening the Japanese defense line on the Yangtze River. On the Anhui side, the main force of the Fifth Theater Army is stationed in the Dabie Mountains, the Anhui Provincial Government is stationed in Lihuang County, the Henan-Anhui border region has Peng Xuefeng's New Fourth Army guerrilla detachment, and the central Anhui region has Gao Jingting's four detachments of the New Fourth Army.

After the Japanese army retreated from the Fuyang area, Hu Laohu led the cavalry brigade of the Eighth Route Army to occupy the area between Fuyang, Mengcheng, Wuyang, Boxian, and Suxian, and opened up a base area in northwest Anhui, which was connected with the Henan-Anhui border area of Peng Xuefeng's department. The troops of the Fifth Theater also took the opportunity to recover Fuyang County, Huoqiu and other places, and pushed the defensive line to the east.

With the southward movement of the Eighth Route Army, the four infantry brigades of the troops were deployed in northeastern Anhui and northern Jiangsu, and the contact with the northern Jiangsu detachment was opened. However, because Liu Yimin implemented the strategy of occupying the countryside and developing in concealment, and did not capture the county towns and key market towns guarded by the Japanese puppet army, as a whole, northern Jiangsu and northeastern Anhui were still under the control of the Japanese puppet army.

Liu Yimin never fights uncertain battles. During this time, he met with the artist condolence group led by Guo Moruo in Shuanggou Town, and wrote "On Intra-Party Democracy", and he was very busy, Luo Yanke, who went south with him, was not idle, and the investigators took Shuanggou Town as the center and scattered in all directions, and the enemy situation in northern Jiangsu, central Jiangsu, northeast Anhui, and central Anhui was clearly felt.

Now, the Japanese Kwantung Army is fighting with the Soviet Red Army, the Central China Dispatch Army has just completed the Battle of Nanchang and the Battle of Suizao, the North China Front Army is scattered in Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, Henan several battlefields, the main force of the Japanese army in Anhui is only one 17th division, the Japanese army in northern Jiangsu and Central Jiangsu has only one 15th division, and the rest is some independent mixed brigades and garrisons, and the entire Suzhou-Anhui border area has been regarded as an occupied area by the Japanese army, although there are more than 100,000 troops, but they are distributed in such a vast area, the strength is extremely weak, It can also only control the main line of Jiāo and key towns. As for the puppet army who followed the Japanese army's buttocks, they were just some transport teams that sent guns and food in Liu Yimin's eyes, and they were not worth mentioning. At this time, if you don't regain the lost territory and establish a strong Suwan base without much fanfare, God will not want to cross Liu Yimin.

Liu Yimin sent a telegram to the chairman and the General Headquarters, reporting on the situation of the enemy and us in northern Jiangsu, central Jiangsu, northeastern Anhui, and eastern Anhui, and determined to concentrate the troops going south to teach the 1st Brigade, the New 1st Brigade, the New 3rd Brigade, the New 7th Brigade, and the cavalry brigade, and with the cooperation of the Northern Jiangsu Detachment of the Eighth Route Army, the guerrilla detachment of the New Fourth Army, the Fourth Detachment of the New Fourth Army, and the cavalry units of the Eighth Route Army that were fighting in the Soviet Union and China, they galloped across the Suzhou-Anhui region, thoroughly smashed the Japanese puppet regime system, reorganized the landlords' armed forces, and established a base area including the Huaibei Base Area, the Huainan Base Area, and the Northern Jiangsu Base Area. The consolidated base area of the Great Soviet-Anhui Border Region, including the Soviet-Chinese base area.

Liu Yimin said in the telegram that the establishment of the base area in the Suzhou-Anhui border region is to implement the principle of "consolidating North China and developing Central China" decided by the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee, and from the perspective of the overall situation of the national War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, only the Jiangsu Han Deqin Division in the Sulu Theater persisted in the war of resistance behind enemy lines in northern Jiangsu, and most of the Suzhou-Anhui region fell. Occupying and consolidating this area and destroying the Japanese puppet rear system is of great significance for adhering to the protracted War of Resistance and speeding up the victory of the War of Resistance into the city.

Liu Yimin suggested that after the opening up of the Suzhou-Anhui border region, it is impossible for Liu Yimin and the main force to stay in the Suzhou-Anhui border region for a long time, and it is urgent for the central government to dispatch major cadres to sit in the Suzhou-Anhui border region. If it is impossible for the military headquarters of the New Fourth Army to cross the river for the time being, Chen Yi and Su Yu should be transferred to cross the river, politically by **, militarily by Chen Yi, Su Yu crossing the river is in central Jiangsu, Peng Xuefeng is in Huaibei, Gao Jingting is in Huainan, and Zhang Jingwu, commander of the Northern Jiangsu Detachment of the Eighth Route Army, and Li Congmin, political commissar of the Eighth Route Army, are in northern Jiangsu.

Máo Zedong sent back instructions in reply: "The Japanese army in North China is huge, the struggle is becoming more and more difficult, and the enemy's forces in Central China are relatively weak. When a sudden change in the whole country is possible, our army must not be limited to death north of the Yellow River and not enter the Central Plains. Therefore, Central China is an important lifeline for me. ”

In the telegram, the chairman said that Liu Yimin's vision was extremely accurate, and that at this time, the army was deployed in the Suzhou-Anhui border area, and even if it could not completely wipe out the Japanese troops in the area, it could still occupy a vast area, expand the living space of our army, and compress the enemy's living space. As long as the Suzhou-Anhui border area can be occupied, the main force of our army can roar down from Shandong at any time, cut off the Japanese defense line on the Yangtze River, and cut the Japanese army in Songhu and the Japanese army in Wuhan into two sections.

Of course, the Chairman reminded that this is a long-term goal, and in the short term, such a consideration is just a piece of paper, and it is necessary to meet the head.

In the telegram, the chairman gave specific instructions on the tactics that should be adopted in the struggle in the Suzhou-Anhui region. Among them, in the Fuyang area of Luxi, the Gui troops of the Fifth Theater will not sit idly by and watch our cavalry brigade occupy the Fuyang area, and the Japanese army will not sit idly by. However, both the Gui troops and the Japanese army are too strong, and once the two sides attack our army together, our army will inevitably withdraw from the area. Moreover, the cavalry brigade is the most powerful cavalry unit in my instructor and even in the whole army, and it may be transferred away at any time to participate in the big battle. In view of this, the northwest region of Anhui should give Peng Xuefeng a free hand to develop. In the northeastern part of Anhui, Zhang Aiping should be instructed to quickly organize brigade-level units, which can be directly under the command of Peng Xuefeng. After the situation in northern Jiangsu was opened, the central government would send Huang Kecheng to the south to lead the anti-Japanese struggle in northern Jiangsu in a unified manner, and the original northern Jiangsu detachment would be under the command of Huang Kecheng, and Liu Yimin would be responsible for transferring the main force of a brigade to Huang Kecheng. In eastern Anhui, the New Fourth Army is setting up a Jiangbei command post, with Zhang Yunyi and Deng Zihui in charge of unified command of the Jiangbei troops in Anhui of the New Fourth Army. The Japanese puppet forces in the central Soviet Union are now strong, and after our army enters, it will inevitably cause the Japanese army to counterattack. Once the Japanese army counterattacks on a large scale, with the strength of four infantry brigades and one cavalry brigade of the southbound troops, they will be very passive because they are confined to the Soviet-Chinese water network and lack of mobile ships. Moreover, although Vice Chairman Zhou personally went to southern Anhui to determine the development strategy of consolidating in the south, fighting in the east, and going north, due to the limited strength of the New Fourth Army, if the whole army wants to cross the Yangtze River, it is necessary to abandon the base areas in southern Anhui. Chen Yi and Su Yu's first and second detachments are being deployed in the south of the Yangtze River, and their buttocks have not yet been hot, so it is impossible to cross the river and go north in a big way in the short term. Based on this situation, after the southbound troops entered the Soviet Union and China, they should leave a brigade to persist in the Soviet-Chinese War of Resistance and wait to receive the main force of the New Fourth Army to cross the river and go north.

As for the issue of organization and leadership in the Suzhou-Anhui border region, the chairman's telegram said that the Central Plains Bureau and the New Fourth Army should be the mainstay. Comrade ** has been ordered to advance eastward, and if the military headquarters of the New Fourth Army can quickly advance northward, the leading organ will be formed by **, Xiang Ying, Ye Ting, and Chen Yi. If the military headquarters of the New Fourth Army could not quickly go north, Chen Yi would be ordered to go north quickly and take over the military command of the Suzhou-Anhui region. Before Chen Yi did not go north, Liu Yimin commanded the party, government and army in the Suzhou-Anhui region. This opinion will be conveyed to the Central Plains Bureau and the New Fourth Army.

The chairman also asked Liu Yimin in the telegram, why did he recommend Chen Yi to sit in the Suzhou-Anhui border area?

The chairman also reported that Ye Ting, commander of the New Fourth Army, had arrived at the Fourth Detachment in order to form the Jiangbei Command, and that Liu Yimin could contact Ye Ting when he went south, and it would be best to meet with him and talk in detail.

At the end of the telegram, the chairman criticized Liu Yimin for being immature. Although the article "On Intra-Party Democracy" is very well-intentioned, expounds, and worthy of reference, it should be reported for internal discussion and should not be published in newspapers. At present, some comrades in the party have questioned the viewpoint of this article, especially on the issue of the term of office, and some comrades have linked this viewpoint to the time of Comrade Stalin's tenure, believing that it will hurt the relations between the two parties and the feelings of the Soviet comrades. This matter needs to be further observed.

After reading the chairman's telegram, Liu Yimin pondered for a long time and knew that he had thought about some things simply. He was bent on fighting to the Yangtze River to meet the New Fourth Army crossing the river and advancing northward, but the only person who was able to cross the river now was Guan Wenwei's unit, which was a guerrilla force that had just been reorganized, and its combat effectiveness was obviously insufficient. Only when the eastward operation is resolutely resisted by the Third Theater of Operations will the main force of the New Fourth Army cross the river in a big way. There's no hurry. It seems that when he entered the Soviet Union, Chen Yi would not have the opportunity to cross the river and go north to join him.

As soon as he thought of Chen Yi, Liu Yimin thought of the chairman's question, why did he recommend Chen Yi to sit in the Suzhou-Anhui border area? Thinking about the article "On Intra-Party Democracy" mentioned by the chairman, Liu Yimin felt that he had to explain it clearly to the chairman, otherwise it would cause misunderstanding, and if someone broadcast right and wrong from it, it would be another storm.

Liu Yimin immediately called back to the chairman, first talking about the recommendation of Chen Yi, the reason is that Chen Yi is the founder of the Jinggangshan Huishi, and when he talked with the chairman in Xi'an before going north, the chairman said many times that Chen Yi was generous and open-minded, right is right, wrong is wrong, and he is a revolutionary who is fiercely loyal to the party. Now, Chen Yi's status in the New Fourth Army is second only to Ye and Xiang, and he is good at balancing relations, which is convenient for coordinating the relationship between the Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army and the ** in the Suzhou-Anhui region. As for the military command, in addition to Chen Yi, Su Yu in Suzhong, Huang Kecheng in Northern Jiangsu, Peng Xuefeng in Huaibei, Zhang Yunyi in Huainan, and Gao Jingting in Huainan designated by the central government are all talented generals of our army, especially Su Yu, who was able to make a surprise attack on Nanjing under the heavy sweep of the Japanese army, and the magic of using troops is simply a stroke of genius. With his assistance to Chen Yi and the support of the Eighth Route Army, he can return to Shandong with confidence, and the base area in the Suzhou-Anhui border area can be safeguarded.

Then, Liu Yimin once again stated the reasons why the military headquarters of the New Fourth Army should march north. The main reason is that the mountainous areas of southern Anhui are not conducive to the large-scale development of the main force of the New Fourth Army, and they are surrounded by the Japanese army and the Third Theater of Operations. The reason why the southbound troops of the Eighth Route Army went all out to open up the base areas in the Suzhou-Anhui border region under such circumstances was mainly because the instructor was the main force of our army, and it was impossible for Han Deqin in northern Jiangsu or the Gui department in the Fifth Theater to take the risk of restricting the movement of the main force of the instructor. The strength of the New Fourth Army has not reached the level of the instructor's troops for the time being, and it has been isolated in the south of the Yangtze River for a long time, and it has to consolidate to the south and fight to the east, which is bound to cause the envy of the hardline generals within the country. As time goes by, there will be more and more friction, and small friction will become big friction, and there will inevitably be great danger. Therefore, it is best to ask the chairman to call Ye and Xiang chiefs, carefully analyze the benefits and disadvantages, and cross the river to the north as soon as possible.

Liu Yimin once again reported that his original intention in writing "On Intra-Party Democracy" was to systematically ensure the long-term prosperity of our party and the future new China, and to solve the problem of the rise and fall of feudal dynasties in history. As for the issue of Comrade Stalin's term of office, Liu Yimin said that he was only discussing it theoretically, considering the problems of our party and not the CPSU. However, at present, the Japanese army is fighting with the Soviet army, and the situation in Europe is also very tense, and Comrade Stalin needs to lead the Soviet Union through the crisis of war. If the war were to end in the future, Comrade Stalin might have seriously reflected on the problems that had arisen in the purge and the policy of the CPSU. Now that we are in a period of war, theoretical discussions are only discussions, and history is constantly evolving, and whether these discussions are right or wrong, as long as they can be verified by practice in the future.

The chairman will call soon, this time there is no criticism, praising Liu Yimin for having the overall situation in mind and having a unique vision, saying that he will call Xiang Ying, so that he can make plans to go north as soon as possible.

After reading the telegram, Liu Yimin sent another telegram to Hu Laohu, asking him to move the defense of the northwestern Anhui base area to Peng Xuefeng's guerrilla detachment of the New Fourth Army, and that Peng Xuefeng would take unified command of the local armed forces in the Henan-Anhui border region and the northwestern Anhui region, and the cavalry brigade would quickly cross the Jinpu Road and assemble at Shuanggou Town.

After sending the telegram, Liu Yimin suddenly remembered that Gao Jingting was shot after Ye Ting arrived at the fourth detachment this time because of delaying his eastward march into Anhui. Now the four detachments have marched into eastern Anhui in accordance with the requirements of their own conversation with Gao Jingting, and the troops have also grown to more than 10,000 people, and the chairman's telegram only said that Ye Ting went to the four detachments to form the Jiangbei Command, and did not say anything about Gao Jingting, so there should be no more historical tragedies!

Liu Yimin immediately sent telegrams to Ye Ting and Gao Jingting.

In the telegram to Ye Ting, Liu Yimin said that he was in Shuanggou Town, and he was about to command the troops to sweep through the northeast of Anhui, and would develop to the eastern part of Anhui and the central Soviet Union, and asked Commander Ye to stay in the four detachments for a while so that he could meet with each other, and he had many questions that he wanted to learn from Commander Ye.

The telegram to Gao Jingting said that Commander Ye was the father of the Nanchang Uprising and one of the founders of our army, and he should learn more from Commander Ye. In addition, Liu Yimin told Gao Jingting that the southbound troops of the Eighth Route Army were about to go south to fight, and they could meet with the four detachments soon.

Liu Yimin didn't know that Gao Jingting had been arrested at this time. The reason was that Yang Kezhi, the head of the Seventh Regiment of Gao Jingting's department, and Cao Yùfu, the deputy head of the regiment, defected to the enemy. Yang Kezhi and Cao Yifu led the troops to seize a batch of property, but after a little hesitation, they did not hand over all of it, leaving some yellow and white things. Both were from the Red Army, and the actions of Yang Kezhi and Cao Yùfu were immediately reported to the detachment headquarters.

At this time, Zhang Yunyi, Zheng Weisan, and Dai Jiying, the political commissar of the old Red 25th Army in the former Hubei-Henan-Anhui period, and Zhang Guotao's Hubei-Henan-Anhui anti-expansion pioneer, were sent back to the four detachments, and Zhang Yunyi directly commanded the eighth regiment of the four detachments to open up the eastern Anhui base area, and Dai Jiying served as the deputy commander of the four detachments and the commander of the Jiangbei guerrilla column. Because Dai Jiying was famous for killing people in Hubei, Henan and Anhui before, the four detachments were all avoided by Commander Gao Jingting. Gao Jingting warned the cadres and soldiers not to tell Dai Jiying about anything, and to be careful. At this time, Dai Jiying competed with Gao Jingting, and repeatedly reported to the military headquarters of the New Fourth Army and the Central Committee that Gao Jingting did not obey the command of the military department. If Liu Yimin hadn't criticized and educated Gao Jingting after meeting him, and talked to Xiang Ying about meeting Gao Jingting in Xi'an, Gao Jingting's situation would have been even more difficult.

When Yang Kezhi and Cao Yifu saw that the matter was revealed, they regretted it, but they were afraid that they would be investigated and killed. The two of them discussed, took the part of the property that had not been handed over, and defected to the Gui army. Before leaving, he also took away some of the people's guns.

Ye Ting came to the fourth detachment this time to prepare for the establishment of the Jiangbei Headquarters. The main reason for preparing for the establishment of the Jiangbei Command Headquarters was to solve the problem of the four detachments. Of course, now is different from history, in history, Gao Jingting did not go all out to enter eastern Anhui, and missed the opportunity to establish a base in eastern Anhui, so that Liao Lei of the Gui department had the opportunity to appoint commissioners and county magistrates in eastern Anhui, and to incorporate miscellaneous armed forces. Now, due to the Japanese army's two heavy army groups going south to pursue the instructor, the troops of the Fifth Theater have retreated to Dabie Mountain, and they have just taken advantage of the light of the Eighth Route Army to take advantage of the opportunity of the Japanese army's shrinking forces to recover the Fuyang and Huoqiu lines, and it is too late to vigorously develop northeast and east Anhui. The fourth detachment marched eastward again and initially gained a firm foothold in eastern Anhui. The problem of the four detachments that Ye Ting wants to solve is, to put it bluntly, a problem that Gao Jingting, Dai Jiying and others are not doing well. At the time of departure, Ye Ting reported to Chiang Kai-shek, the Third Theater and the Central Committee that he was going to set up a headquarters in Jiangbei. Since the fourth detachment belongs to the fifth theater sequence, and the first, second, and third detachments of the main force of the New Fourth Army belong to the third theater sequence, there is indeed the problem of unsmooth command.

As soon as Yang Kezhi and Cao Yifu defected, the problem became serious.