In late March 1947, Gu Zhutong commanded 25 reorganized divisions in Shandong with a strength of 450,000 troops to launch a key attack on the Liberated Areas of Shandong. The 450,000 were divided into three mobile corps, the commanders of which were Tang Enbo, Wang Jingjiu and Ou Zhen, of which Tang Enbo's First Corps was the most powerful, with more than 250,000 people in 10 integrated divisions. In order to avoid being divided and surrounded by the People's Liberation Army, Gu Zhutong adopted the principle of "moving closer together, fighting steadily and steadily, and advancing on the drum."
Although this operational policy was prudent, it greatly slowed down the marching speed, and it could not walk ten miles a day. Tang Enbo was extremely dissatisfied with this and ridiculed Gu Zhutong for "fearing the enemy and fighting timidly." Because the enemy was too dense, our army could not find a fighter that could not be interspersed for a while. In order to make the enemy boldly advance, our army took the initiative to show weakness and gave up some base areas. In this way, Gu Zhu and his generals reported their battle achievements one after another, and by the last count, they actually "eliminated" the main force of 70,000 or 80,000 Huaye.
Gu Zhutong was deeply encouraged, believing that Huaye had suffered heavy losses and was unable to fight again, so he ordered his troops to advance at full speed and press forward to Tanbu, where Huaye's headquarters was located. In order to grab the lead, Tang Enbo left Wang Jingjiu and Ou Zhen and led the First Corps to the front. In the First Corps, Zhang Lingfu's reorganized 74th Division moved most quickly, and Li Tianxia and Huang Baitao, who served as flank cover, distanced tens of kilometers, becoming a prominent lone army. Su Yu sensitively seized the fighter and surrounded the integrated 74th Division in the Menglianggu area with the strength of 5 columns.
After being surrounded, Zhang Lingfu refused the proposal of his subordinates to break through, determined to use himself as bait to attract huaye's main force, to fight a decisive battle with our army in the Menglianggu area, and to blossom in a center. Honestly speaking, Zhang Lingfu's decision is still very bold, and it also has a certain feasibility. At that time, there were 450,000 Nationalist troops in Shandong, most of which were not far from Meng Lianggu, while Huaye had only 270,000 people, and only 4 columns were responsible for reinforcements. If the peripheral nationalist armies desperately rescued Zhang Lingfu, the battle situation would really be difficult to say.
However, Zhang Lingfu overestimated his colleagues, and only one of the 25 commanders of the reorganized division was willing to rescue the 74th Division with all his might, and this person was Hu Lian, who was then the commander of the 11th Reorganized Division. Hu Lian and Zhang Lingfu were not only fellow villagers in Shaanxi, but also alumni of the Huangpu Ivy, and later became the concubines of Old Jiang, with heavy troops. Within the factional National Army, Hu Lian and Zhang Lingfu had a very good personal relationship, and the two were called brothers and felt sorry for each other. Therefore, when he learned that Zhang Lingfu was surrounded, Hu Lian was willing to do his best to save him.
Except for Hu Lian, none of the other 24 reorganized division commanders would try their best to rescue Zhang Lingfu. There are two main reasons for this situation, the first is to preserve strength, within the Kuomintang, strength is the most important, if you fight out your troops, then there will be nothing, so these people are not willing to fight hard to save Zhang Lingfu. The second reason is that Zhang Lingfu has a poor relationship with his colleagues, and many people are waiting to see his jokes. Zhang Lingfu was usually very arrogant, and after becoming the commander of the reorganized 74th Division, he was even more crazy, and no one except Old Jiang paid attention to him, so his relationship with his colleagues was very tense. Despite Lao Jiang's repeated strict orders, none of these people were willing to fight to the death, which eventually led to the total annihilation of the reorganized 74th Division at Menglianggu, and Zhang Lingfu was also defeated and killed.