I agreed to leave temporarily but never went back: What were Mao Zedong’s considerations when Chen Yi left Huaye?

Chen Yi is the banner figure of the East China Field Army. Even with General Su Yu, the "God of War" commanding the battle, Chen Yi's status in Huaye will not be affected. To be more precise, the two Chen Su complement each other and are golden partners.

However, it is a pity that since Chen Yi left Huaye in May 1948, he never came back to actually command operations. Although he was still nominally the commander and political commissar of Huaye (Sanye), he no longer had much control over the actual combat affairs of Huaye.

At the beginning of Chen Yi's transfer, Su Yu repeatedly requested Chairman Mao to keep Chen Yi, insisting that Huaye could not do without "Commander Chen." After several communications, Chairman Mao agreed to retain Chen Yi's position in Huaye, but he still had to work in the Central Plains Field Army.

Chairman Mao also comforted Su Yu by saying that Chen Yi was only temporarily going to the Central Plains to assist Liu and Deng in their work in the Central Plains. No one expected that this "temporary" would almost become "forever". What is the reason?

1. The connecting point of the two field armies

In fact, Chairman Mao did not intend to transfer Chen Yi from the beginning. After all, with Chen Yi’s qualifications, he only served as the second secretary of the Central Plains Bureau. , serving as the deputy commander of the Central Plains Military Region and the Central Plains Field Army is a bit humiliating.

Chen Yi went to Zhongye to assist Liu Deng, mainly to do a good job in the work of the Central Plains Bureau and to provide logistical support and local work for the two field armies, Zhongye and Huaye.

At that time, the situation in the center and field was quite severe. The base area was not consolidated, the troops were weak, and the opponents were also very strong. Bai Chongxi was stationed in Wuhan and commanded hundreds of thousands of troops to fight with the center and field. Liu Bocheng had to focus on fighting and had no time to manage administrative and local affairs. Deng Xiaoping could not handle it alone, so he roped in Chen Yi and Deng Zihui from Huaye to help the Central Plains Bureau.

What Chairman Mao did not expect was that as soon as Chen Yi arrived in the Central Plains, he would immediately play a significant role, especially in the military field, which Mao Zedong did not place much hope on.

In 1948, Huaye fought in the Battle of East Henan and the Battle of Jinan one after another, while Zhongye struggled to gain a foothold in Henan.

The situation faced by the two field armies of Zhongye and Huaye is very complex, and they urgently need to coordinate operations, otherwise they will not be able to defeat the elite group of the national army in Xuzhou.

But the two field armies did not cooperate well before.

Whether it is attacking Luoyang, opening the seal, or establishing base areas on the borders of Henan and Anhui, the two armies basically echo each other in form, but cannot carry out in-depth cooperation.

The reason is not difficult to understand.

The commanding styles of Su Yu and Liu Bocheng are different. Su Yu is very good at fighting tough battles. The tougher the battle, the more he likes to face the enemy. In the Battle of East Henan, he fought against Ou Shounian, Qiu Qingquan and Huang Baitao with almost equal strength. Three powerful corps. At the end of the fight, Huaye was exhausted and Huang Baitao almost broke through the defense.

Liu Bocheng did not want to fight this kind of tightrope battle. Generally speaking, he made a decision and then acted. One was determined by his character and experience, and the other was that the Nakano family was too weak to withstand unexpected losses, so The feeling of fighting is a bit like Zhuge Liang. Every battle must be carefully planned, so that even if there is an accident, it will not affect the vitality.

Therefore, when the Huaihai Campaign begins, without strong cooperation, Su and Liu will still rely on their own performance. No field army alone can be sure of victory.

Su Yu saw the crux of the problem and called the Central Plains Bureau to request the Central Plains Bureau to unified command the Huaihai Campaign. Chairman Mao ordered the establishment of the General Front Committee for the Huaihai Campaign, and Deng Xiaoping, Chen Yi, Liu Bocheng, Su Yu, and Tan Zhenlin became members of the General Front Committee.

The most critical person among them is Chen Yi.

As the leader of two field armies, Chen Yi took charge of many orders involving the cooperation between the two armies, as well as some matters that were not easy to coordinate.

For example, the coordinated operations after the flying soldiers arrived in Su County.

Attacking Suxian to cut off the connection between the national army and Xu Beng was Liu Bocheng's masterstroke. However, this move is a good move, but not very easy to make.

Su County is small but strong, and the Kuomintang troops are heavily guarded. It is also on the railway line, making it very convenient for enemy troops to come and go for rescue.

Liu Bocheng commanded the midfield troops to attack Suxian, but the battle was not smooth.

The center field is too weak. The advance into the Dabie Mountains hurts the vitality. All heavy weapons are lost. There is no heavy artillery and it cannot be attacked.

At the critical moment, Chen Yi personally called Su Yu and asked Huaye Special Agent to quickly dispatch a batch of heavy artillery and artillery shells. Huaye Tezong was founded by Chen Yi after the Lunan Campaign, and most of Huaye's howitzer shells were shipped by sea after Chen Yi contacted the Dalian Arsenal of the Northeast Bureau.

As soon as Su Yu heard Chen Yi’s request, he made arrangements on the spot. This is Chen Yi's family business and the affection of the old army commander. There is no reason not to arrange it, and it must be arranged immediately.

A large number of howitzers and sufficient ammunition were delivered without any delay. The soldiers in the middle and field were extremely happy and immediately aimed at the city with a fierce bombardment, and the Su County city was destroyed.

If Chen Yi was not here, this matter could be done, but it would never be so smooth or fast. You must know that coordination among cross-field armies cannot be achieved by conscious effort alone. The flow of orders, the selection of supporting troops, and the specific connection between troops... were complex enough to cause long delays, so that the window period for attacking Su County was missed.

Chen Yi still has great power and is very familiar with the situation in Huaye. Only he can overcome the obstacles so quickly.

This is just a trivial matter.

Successfully surrounded and eliminated the Huang Wei Corps, Chen Yi played a greater role in liaison and coordination.

2. Su Yu had no sleep for seven nights and made a decision with Chen Yi

The middle field surrounded Huang Wei's regiment. Liu Bocheng laughed at himself as a skinny dog ??with a hard shit, which could not be eaten by the crowd. Huang Wei also boasted that with the strength of his corps, he did not take Liu Bocheng's seven columns of more than 100,000 people into consideration at all.

This is indeed the case. The 18th Army, the backbone of Huang Wei's regiment, is an old unit of Chen Cheng's civil engineering department and has a very high level of tactics. Although they were surrounded, the field fortifications were very solid and could not be penetrated by light infantry charges. As time goes by, when the troops in the middle and field are almost exhausted, Huang Wei's regiment will rush out and join Du Yuming's group. The balance of victory may tip to the Kuomintang army.

Su Yu recalled in his later years that he had the most tense three battles in the War of Liberation.

The first time was the Battle of Subei. This was the first time he commanded two field armies in Central China and Shandong, and he planned to eat two reorganized divisions in one go, which made him very nervous.

In the Second Battle of East Henan, Su Yu used part of Huaye's troops (Xu Shiyou's Shandong Corps was not present) to deal with Qiu Qingquan, Ou Shounian and Huang Baitao's three regiments at the same time. The danger was so extreme that he almost died at the last moment. Reversed by Huang Baitao.

The third time was the second stage of the Huaihai Campaign, which was the period when the Huang Wei Corps was dealt with.

After the first phase of the battle to annihilate Huang Baitao's regiment, Huaye suffered as many as 40,000 casualties. When the troops were extremely tired and without rest, Su Yu boldly divided Huaye's troops into three, and the main force surrounded Du Yuming. The other part of the group was to contain Li Yannian and Liu Ruming's regiments in Bengbu, and the third part was sent to support the middle field to fight against Huang Wei's regiment.

It’s difficult! The troops on any battlefield are used to their limit. If the opening of any battlefield is not sealed, the main force of the national army will break out of the encirclement, and the overall plan of the Huaihai Campaign will be in vain.

Especially in the two directions of the southern front, should the main force be placed in the direction of Li and Liu Corps, or in the direction of Huang Wei Corps? It's hard to choose.

Su Yu described Huaye as having three loads on one shoulder at that time. He was so nervous that he didn't sleep for seven days and seven nights. He suffered from an attack of Meniere's disease, was dizzy, and had a splitting headache.

At this time, no one could make a big decision for Su Yu. Deputy political commissar Tan Zhenlin, chief of staff Chen Shiju, and deputy chief of staff Zhang Zhen were all extremely nervous and did not dare to make casual suggestions.

Chen Yi has not forgotten Su Yu.

As the commander and political commissar of Huaye, he urged Su Yu to invest several main columns to attack Huang Wei first.

This is simply a huge gamble. The bet is that Li Yannian and Liu Ruming's corps will not break out to the north, and the price is whether Du Yuming's encirclement can continue to be maintained.

When Su Yu was no longer sure which enemy group would move first, he followed Chen Yi's idea and sent Chief of Staff Chen Shiju to lead three main columns and an artillery unit south to launch an attack on Huang Wei's regiment. The final blow.

How easy is it to draw three main columns?

Huaye besieged Du Yuming's group in the north and Li and Liu's corps in the south. Their strength had been stretched to the limit. Su Yu not only sent out the 13th column of the general reserve team in his hand, but also sent out a main attack force, the 7th column, and The special command with the strongest artillery fire.

Su Yu almost risked his life and fortune to support Nakano.

Just imagine, without Chen Yi's planning and coordination at the General Front Committee, would Huaye really be able to give Zhongye such a big face?

After annihilating the Huang Wei Corps, Chairman Mao was extremely excited and became more aware of Chen Yi's wonderful use.

3. The Battle of Crossing the River has not yet returned to Huaye

After the Huaihai Campaign, the General Front Committee was abolished, and the Second and Third Fields (after the Huaihai Campaign, each field army was reorganized , the battlefield known as 1, 2, 3, 4) then moved southward. Chen Yi's task of assisting the Central Plains Bureau in logistics and coordination was basically over. It is said that Chen Yi should return to Huaye and return to his duties.

Still not!

Chairman Mao tasted the sweetness of Chen Yi's simultaneous appointment as the two field armies, and asked Chen Yi to stay as the deputy commander of the Central Plains Bureau and the Second Field Army. Chen Yi also expressed his helplessness, but he was ordered to send him. The overall situation required that he had to stay. .

Chairman Mao took care of Chen Yi's feelings, and when Su Yu was seriously ill and unable to return to Jinan for treatment, he asked Chen Yi to show up at Sanye.

At that time, Chen Yi had been re-elected as commander and political commissar of the Third Field Army with the change of designation. The generals of the three field armies were agitated and warmly welcomed Chen Yi back.

Shortly after this brief appearance, as Su Yu's condition improved and he was discharged from the hospital, the cross-river operation was put on the agenda. Chen Yi returned to the Central Plains Bureau again and still assumed the important task of coordinating the two field armies.

At this time, the two field armies have basically been united. Huaye's troops were divided into two, and the corps was used as a unit to conduct cross-river operations. At that time, Su Yu was forced to fight despite his illness. He was rubbing his head while commanding. It can be said that he was unable to take into account the coordination of the two field armies. At this time, it was Chen Yi who stepped forward again and coordinated the arrangements so that the two field armies and the Central Plains and East China Military Regions, which totaled a total of 1.2 million troops, could coordinate smoothly and naturally.

This is the largest battle in the history of our army.

The functions played by the General Front Committee at this time are no less than those of the General Staff. The role played by Chen Yi was twice that of the Huaihai Battle, and he was a major contributor to the victory in crossing the river.

4. Mayor of Shanghai

After the victory in crossing the river, history entered a new stage. Everyone in the three fields understood that Mr. Chen would never come back.

Why? Chen Yi has taken up his new post as mayor of Shanghai.

As early as March 1949, the central government had already begun to consider who would be the first mayor of Shanghai after the liberation.

Shanghai was China's economic center at the time, gathering the largest amount of national capital in the country and also being a financial center. Shanghai's economic conditions once determined the direction of the Kuomintang government. The liberation of Shanghai is not only about liberation by force, but also about how to take over smoothly.

If Shanghai is destroyed and all national capital, enterprises and finance flee, then the liberation of Shanghai will be a failure.

If it is not properly managed and the national capital panics and flees, it will also be a failure.

Therefore, the mayor must not only be proficient in military strategy and military affairs, and know how to fight against Shanghai; he must also be proficient in civil affairs, understand economics, and be able to unite the front to make Shanghai, a big bowl full of water, safe. Take it up and put it down safely.

Chen Yi seems to be the best candidate reserved by God.

Although his military attainments are not perfect, he is more successful because of his profound military experience. He was a founding father of the army as early as 1927 when he went to Jinggangshan. He is also good at grasping the overall situation and knows how to fight the battle and to what extent is appropriate. It was he who set the principle of "hunting rats in a porcelain shop" in Shanghai.

His cultural attainments are at the top level within the party. When it comes to reciting poems and writing poems, except for Chairman Mao, he cannot compare with him, and few others can match him in terms of literary and artistic standards. Culture is also a fighting force. For decades, the national army has been deriding the Chinese Communist Party as being ignorant and uneducated. Chen Yi's banner can effectively unite intellectuals and cultural leaders in the former Kuomintang-controlled areas.

He is also very flexible in mind, knows how to adapt, and is good at dealing with all kinds of people. In Shanghai, a city where dragons and snakes are mixed and various forces are intertwined, only people like Chen Yi can be useful.

5. Two major events determined Shanghai

Chen Yi did many great things in governing Shanghai.

Youdao means that those who are good at fighting have no illustrious achievements. Chen Yi did not engage in major killings in Shanghai. Although killings can deter hostile forces, they only treat the symptoms but not the root cause, which will instead lead to resistance from the middle people who are watching. .

Most of the work Chen Yi does is to moisturize things silently. Give two examples.

The first thing is to hold a cultural symposium.

Chen Yi convened a conference attended by representatives from science, culture, education, publishing, folk arts, film, music, art and other fields. The attendees were all celebrities in the cultural circle who have lived in Shanghai for a long time. Chen Yi took the stage to speak without any stage fright.

He started from the private school he attended when he was a child, and talked about his studies in Chengdu, from studying ancient Chinese classics to learning new knowledge in modern science, from studying in China to studying hard in France. Chen Yi has long had a literary reputation, and his poems are widely known. In addition, his speech was humorous and open-minded. After speaking for 4 hours, the Shanghai cultural celebrities in the audience still did not feel tired and applauded frequently.

After this cultural symposium, "Chen Yi fever" emerged in Shanghai's cultural circles. Through the mouths of intellectuals and cultural figures, Chen Yi's influence quickly spread to the streets and alleys, and ordinary people began to know the mayor. Being close to the people, there is no doubt that Chen Yi quickly set up a very good banner for our party.

The second item is the knockdown handle.

Speaking of this, everyone will naturally think of Chiang Ching-kuo’s tiger hunt in 1948. When Chiang Kai-shek fought against the tiger, he was essentially fighting for opportunism. However, with his status as a prince, Chiang Kai-shek could not touch the capital of the Song family and the Kong family, and prices went higher and higher. In the end, Shanghai's financial market was completely freed, and the people were miserable.

The situation faced by Chen Yi is basically the same. Although the Song and Kong families have all fled, there are still many big speculators who can influence prices in the Shanghai market. The imperialists and the Kuomintang once predicted that the Communist Party would be able to capture Shanghai militarily, but it would not be able to manage Shanghai well, especially economically.

One week after Shanghai was liberated, the ratio of silver dollar to RMB rose from 1:100 to 1:1,400; on June 8, it rose to 1:2,000. Behind the rise in the price of the silver dollar is the reactionary forces of the Kuomintang secretly trying to destroy the credibility of the RMB.

The sharp rise in silver dollar prices caused prices in the entire market to triple. The rampant behavior of lawless elements has seriously endangered the normal life of Shanghai people and caused financial fluctuations across the country.

Chen Yi was not afraid of this. He ordered that 35 million silver dollars be concentrated and sold on the black market when the price was high, in order to lower the price of silver dollars. The government has also adopted methods such as "discounting units" to pay wages and launching "discounting savings" to solve the practical difficulties of the basic masses caused by currency fluctuations.

However, speculators, relying on their abundant capital, ignored the warnings of the people's government and persisted in going their own way. Chen Yi dared to take ruthless measures at a critical moment and decided to close and ban the business premises of major speculators and arrest the big speculators who disrupted the market.

Chen Yi emphasized: "We must fight this operation as the Huaihai Battle on the economic front. If we don't fight, we will catch them all."

At 10 a.m. on June 10, the public security department and The security area troops took action against the Stock Exchange, the center of activities for large speculators to manipulate the silver dollar market, and detained more than 250 major speculators. It was announced that silver dollars (including gold and foreign currencies) would be prohibited from circulating in the market, but the exchange for RMB would be allowed at the People's Bank of China price, making RMB the only standard currency.

The next day, the price of silver dollars fell from 2,000 yuan to 1,200 yuan. Two days later, the price of rice fell by 20%. On June 22, the price index dropped by about 10 and gradually stabilized.

The hostile forces and speculators are still determined to bring down the market using the same methods they used against Xiao Jiang.

The largest commodities on the market at that time were "two white and one black", namely rice, cotton, and coal.

Speculators use huge capital to purchase and hoard important supplies, but they don’t sell them. As a result, there was an acute shortage of materials in Shanghai. Rice soared from 11,700 yuan to 65,000 yuan per stone. The prices of cotton yarn, cotton cloth, and flour soared 34 times, which also led to the rise in the prices of other commodities. It was the most violent after the liberation of Shanghai. The largest increase recorded.

Seeing the recruitment and demolition, Chen Yi asked the Central People's Government to uniformly allocate a large amount of important materials such as grain, cotton, and coal to Shanghai from all over the country, and seized the opportunity to sell them intensively during the critical period. The state-owned commercial and trade department transferred 28,000 tons of cotton yarn to Shanghai. , more than 1 million pieces of cloth, and a large amount of grain and coal were sold to the market at low prices for more than 10 consecutive days.

The speculators were caught off guard and were unable to swallow the goods, so they had to compete to sell the goods in their hands at lower prices, resulting in heavy losses. The surging wind of "two whites and one black" has finally been calmed down. A representative of the bourgeoisie sighed from the bottom of his heart: "The Chinese Communist Party used political power to suppress the silver dollar trend in June. This time it was able to stabilize it with economic power alone. This was unexpected by the Shanghai industrial and commercial circles. "Mao Zedong spoke highly of this victory: "It is no less significant than the Huaihai Battle!"

Chen Yi's great role in Shanghai once again made Chairman Mao extremely happy.

The world can be conquered immediately, but it cannot be cured immediately. From then on, the central government never asked Chen Yi to do military work. Although he still holds the position of commander of the East China Military Region, he is more of a nominal person rather than a director.

Even though the East China Army was tasked with liberating Frog Island, Chen Yi no longer bothered with the battle.

It was not until 1955 that the designation of the Sanye was revoked, the East China Military Region was reorganized into the Nanjing Military Region, Xu Shiyou became the first commander of the Nanjing Military Region, and Chen Yi was promoted to the central government. The intersection between Mr. Chen and the Sanye finally came to an end. .