180 sharp arrows ready to go

The dark clouds of war shrouded in Changdu, the political and economic center of eastern Tibet, which is the throat of the revolutionary army's entry into Tibet.

Under the leadership of the Support Command and the Kangzang Highway Construction Command, 750 kilometers of highways to Changdu have been built, and tens of thousands of tons of supplies have been transported forward by planes, cars and carriages. As the preparations progressed, the troops entering Tibet moved forward one after another. The 20,000 troops marched from Deng Ke, Dege, Batang Front Line and the Qing Naval District Cavalry Detachment from Sichuan to the east bank of the Jinsha River to Yushu, and approached the Changdu area from the east and north, completing the battle.

At the moment when the war was about to start, Qinghai political and religious organizations formed delegations from temples in Qinghai Province to advise on the peaceful liberation of Tibet with the participation of talents such as Living Buddha, Summer Cang Living Buddha, Xianling Hutuktu, Gle Jiacuo and Chi Yurui. And made a statement to the Northwest Military Commission of Lanzhou.

Finally, after further careful research by Lin Tiechang and Zhang Fengyi, they decided to postpone the attack on Changdu and send a living Buddha to Changdu first to see if they could persuade them to surrender, and immediately reported this opinion to the Military Commission.

Li Xiang called back immediately after receiving the telegram, pointing out: "It is very gratifying to be determined to peacefully restore Tibet. It is extremely necessary to unite with the upper-class political and religious people of Qinghai and Tibet. We must convey to the Tibetan people the spirit of Ezhou's instructions on the peaceful restoration of Tibet and encourage them to contribute to the peaceful restoration of Tibet.

After receiving Li Xiang's telegram, Lin Tiechang discussed with the Panchen Lama of Qinghai and decided to let the Geda Living Buddha of Baili Temple in Ganzi, which is close to Changdu, come forward to lobby the general manager of Changdu.

Geda Living Buddha was appointed by the Ezhou People's Government as a member of the Northwest Military and Political Committee and Vice Chairman of the Xikang Provincial People's Government. He went to Changdu to lobby, and then prepared to go to Lhasa to persuade the Tibetan government to agree to peacefully liberate Tibet.

After the fourth division arrived in Ganzi, General Liu Jing lived in Baili Temple for seven days. I talk late at night with Geda Living Buddha every day. Liu Jing expressed the strategy of Ezhou's peaceful restoration of Tibet to Geda Living Buddha.

Geda Living Buddha nodded and praised: "Da Shuai Li is really wise. The peaceful restoration implemented by Ezhou to Tibet is really to love all sentient beings and not to let the creatures be ruined. It is good and good. I, a theist who believes in Sakyamuni, sincerely welcome you atheists.

In this way, Geda Living Buddha set off with the trust of the central government and the wish of peace.

At that time, considering the security issue, General Liu Jing sent troops to take charge of his safety, but Guda Living Buddha refused.

Before leaving, he said: "Marshal Li is generous. The current political system in Tibet remains the same. The status and powers of the lama will not change. Officials at all levels will serve as usual. Tibet implements democratic regional autonomy. Marshal Li is more thoughtful than I thought. My mission of going to Tibet to persuade peace will definitely be realized.

After a difficult journey, Geda Living Buddha and his entourage reached Changdu and met with Lalu, the general manager of Changdu at that time. Second Wang Dorji.

Geda Living Buddha persuaded Lalu: "Marshal Li wants to restore Tibet anyway, so he would rather take a peaceful approach than resort to force. If Lhasa tries to fight with Marshal Li, it will not only cause the loss of life, but also lead to the destruction of Buddhism and monasteries.

He brought three peace suggestions put forward by Marshal Li: 1. Tibet must recognize it as part of China. 2. The National Revolutionary Army must be deployed in the border areas between Tibet and India, Nepal, Bhutan and other countries. 3. Tibet must cut off all ties with the imperial state.

Geda said to Lalu, "If Tibet accepts these peace proposals, there will be no need for the revolutionary army to march into Tibet, and the unity of politics and religion in Tibet can be maintained."

Laru submitted these peace proposals to Lhasa, and Lhasa replied ambiguously: "You can consider these suggestions."

At this time, Geda Living Buddha was anxious with such a reply. He saw with his own eyes the power of the revolutionary army. Compared with the Tibetan army and the revolutionary army, it was a mob. In addition, I fell ill all the way. What's more serious is that an extremely sinister conspiracy is approaching Geda Living Buddha. Geda Living Buddha was just a minor illness, but his condition worsened, so he died suddenly.

The peaceful journey of Geda Living Buddha was interrupted by his death.

At this critical moment, Lhasa appointed Apei Awang as the new chief manager of Changdu to replace Lalu.

When Apei saw Lalu in Changdu, he said, "Tibet can't beat the Han people, because the Han people have the latest weapons and equipment and well-trained officers and soldiers who have experienced many battles. It is much better to try to negotiate and reach a peaceful solution than to confront by force.

"Don't forget your identity." Laru held a rosary in his hand and sat like a mud bodhisattva. He said, "Whether there is a possibility of success or not, we must fight to the death."

A Pei sneered and said, "There is no need to provoke the revolutionary army. The fortifications built on the top of the mountain must be demolished. Stop recruiting more Kamba militias.

"No way!" Lalu said coldly, "I still have the final say in Changdu now."

"Do you really think you cover the sky with one hand in Changdu? Don't think that no one knows about the blasphemy you did?

"What did you say?"

"Guda Living Buddha suddenly died in Changdu. He did not die of illness. He was poisoned to death!" A Pei said gloomily.

"What did you say?" Laru can't sit still even if it's Mud Bodhisattva.

"Who is the poisoner? Some people say that Gerda Living Buddha was killed by Ford, a British radio operator stationed in Changdu, and some said that he was killed by you. But it is clear that the Living Buddha of Geda was poisoned to death. In any case, you can't get rid of the death of Geda Living Buddha!"

"To say this, you want evidence!"

Lalu was tough on the surface, but the cold sweat flowed down. He felt that the room was a little sultry and quietly opened his collar.

Apei sneered: "Hmm! I don't want to embarrass you in the face of the enemy. However, this place in Changdu is too small to be stationed and managed by two Garun. I suggest that Master Lalu should leave Changdu and go to Qiongbuseda in the south of Yushu to open up a new combat base, while I will stay in Changdu.

Lalu's mouth was frequent**, but he did not object again.

Although A Pei really wants to have peace talks with the revolutionary army, it is a pity that the living Buddha of Geda is dead, and Lhasa does not agree to the peace talks, so A Pei's behavior is quite similar to Ye Mingchen, the "six no governors" of Guangzhou who "don't fight, don't fight, don't make peace, don't keep, don't die, don't surrender, don't leave". In the face of the pressure of the revolutionary army, A Pei's misjudgment led to the Battle of Changdu to be carried out in full accordance with the ideas of the Revolutionary Army.

In terms of defense, A Pei did not establish a standing reserve army. Except for hundreds of people left in Changdu, all the Tibetan officers and soldiers are scattered along the border; the revolutionary army may break through the Tibetan defense line at any time, and there is no second line of defense behind the border guards. The British proposed the need to establish a reserve army as early as when they escorted Nai to Tibet, but this report was obviously never adopted by Dani's officials.

Since the Tibetan army's radio station in Deng Ke was destroyed, at the repeated request of Lalu, Apei brought two portable radio transceiver from Lhasa, but he decided not to set up these two radio stations in the border area along the Jinsha River. So Lalu took one to Luolongzong, and the other stayed idle in Changdu.

Ford, an Englishman, tried to persuade Apei to send the idle radio station to the strategic location of Uzi, so that he could receive timely and quickly information about the withdrawal route of Lagon Onda, but was rejected by Apei.

With the arrival of the end of September, many people speculate that the approach of winter means that the revolutionary army may not launch an attack, which makes the Tibetan army gradually relax their vigilance.

For a long time, the front-line headquarters of the Fourth Division did not know about the death of Geda Living Buddha. At this time, the Tibetan army began to mobilize troops to deploy defense at the ferry and began to expand the army, from the original 14 generations to 17, and one generation is equivalent to the strength of a regiment. Two-thirds of the main force of the Tibetan army is deployed around Changdu and in the vast area on the west bank of Jinsha. He tried to seize the important town of Changdu, cut off the key road of Tibet to prevent the revolutionary army from crossing the river, and bought a large number of advanced weapons from British India.

"September in Tibet is the rainy season, and the river water is soaring. This has brought great difficulties for the revolutionary army to cross the river. Liu Jing is calling Li Dashuai with the phone line he just connected.

Li Xiang said to the phone at the Red Mansion in Wuhan: "In order to ensure the smooth progress of the battle, the revolutionary army must find ways to make river crossing tools in various ways. When I was in Lanzhou, I saw that many local people crossed the Yellow River with sheepskin rafts. You can also consider a simple raft made of local yak cowhide, which became the main river crossing tool at that time.

Liu Jing immediately said excitedly, "The marshal still has a way. I'll ask them to try it like this. Let's see if it works."

Li Xiang said, "I heard that the newly formed air force has begun to drop supplies on the front line, but it is far from meeting the consumption of the war, in order to ensure the smooth progress of the battle. While the airlifting supplies to the front troops of the air force, the ground transport team is rushing over the mountains and attacking the front line.

"Marshal, on the transportation line above 5,000 meters above sea level, the mule team from the mainland is no longer useful. What is urgently needed is the plateau boat yak. However, on the sparsely populated plateau, collecting yaks is not an easy task.

"If it's not easy, you have to do it for me!"

"Hm?"

"This is a political task!"

"Yes!"

"There are several toasts and leaders in the Tibetan area. They have a good friendship with Yin Changheng. I will ask him to telegraph those toasts and leaders and say hello."

"Thank you, Marshal!"

"This is not for you. What can I thank you for?"

......

The Tibetan area is also under the management of the head of the toast, controlling almost all social resources, including the yaks raised by farmers and herdsmen. Jiangyang Baimu, Shagdaoden and Dadoji are the largest toasts and heads in the east of the Jinsha River.

Liu Jing visited them in person with Yin Changheng's telegram. After a long conversation all night, Shagel Daoden promised to produce 5,000 yaks in person, and could also help provide 2,000 yaks from Jiangyang Baim. A few days later, a transport team of nearly 10,000 yoks appeared on the tea-horse ancient road to Tibet.

Liu Jing gave the order to attack three days later. A sharp arrow full of bows pointed to both sides of the Jinsha River and were ready to go.