Zeng Zesheng, commander of the Kuomintang 60th Army, led more than 30,000 people to revolt in the Changchun battlefield on October 17, 1948. On January 3, 1949, Zeng Zesheng was appointed commander of the 50th Army of the People's Liberation Army reorganized from the 60th Army, and subsequently participated in the National Liberation War and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
The 50th Army led by Zeng Zesheng performed well in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and was even personally praised by Peng Dehuai.
In April 1951, while the 50th Army was resting in China, Zeng Zesheng returned to Beijing to reunite with his family, and was soon received by Chairman Mao.
But when Zeng Zesheng and Chairman Mao talked out, Zeng Zesheng felt landless and said to his wife after returning home: "Pack your bags quickly, I can't stay in Beijing for a day, go back to North Korea immediately!" ”
Why did Zeng Zesheng say this sentence after he finished talking to Chairman Mao? What exactly did he and Chairman Mao talk about?
Zeng Zesheng
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="7" > Zeng Zesheng was overwhelmed and decided to oppose the Chiang uprising</h1>
Zeng Zesheng was born in 1902 in Magou Village, Yongshan County, Yunnan Province, and was admitted to the Non-Commissioned Officer Corps of Tang Jiyao, the Overseer of Yunnan, in his early years, and entered the third phase and advanced classes of the Whampoa Military Academy in 1925.
In 1929, Long Yun relied on force to unify Yunnan, first acting as chairman of yunnan province of the nationalist government, and then directly serving as chairman of yunnan province. In order to expand his own power, Long Yun sent Lu Junquan to Shanghai, Nanjing, and other places to recruit military cadres.
It is precisely because of this that more than 20 people, including Zeng Zesheng and Pan Shuoduan, were recruited to Yunnan, and since then Zeng Zesheng has begun to serve in the Dian Army, successively serving as a company commander and battalion commander of the Dian Army.
After the outbreak of the Lugou Bridge Incident in 1937, Long Yun decided to send 200,000 troops to form the Kuomintang 60th Army, preparing to go online to resist Japan. The commander of the 60th Army was Lu Han, the commander of the 184th Division was Zhang Chong, and Zeng Zesheng was the commander of the 105th Regiment of the 184th Division of the 60th Army.
In mid-April 1938, the Sixty Army was ordered to participate in the Battle of Taierzhuang, and Zeng Zesheng commanded the 105th Regiment to defend Yuwang Mountain, the commanding height of Taierzhuang East, desperately resisting the Japanese attack. The following year, Zeng Zesheng commanded the troops to participate in the defense of the outskirts of Wuhan and the attack on Nanchang.
In September 1940, japan occupied Hanoi, Vietnam, and invaded the Yunnan border, facing the fierce enemy attack, the 60th Army was ordered to return to Yunnan. In November, based on the 60th Army, the General Headquarters of the First Army was established in Kunming, Yunnan Province, with Lu Han as commander-in-chief and commander of the 60th Army, and Zeng Zesheng as deputy commander of the 184th Division, and later promoted to division commander.
In August 1945, Japan surrendered unconditionally, and in September Zeng Zesheng led the 184th Division into Vietnam with Luhan to be surrendered. In March 1946, Zeng Zesheng became the commander of the 60th Army, and was later ordered to go to the northeast to grab the fruits of the victory of the anti-Japanese resistance.
After the 60th Army arrived in the northeast, it was ordered to deploy on the medium and long lines, and it was thought that Zeng Zesheng's troops would strengthen its own troops in the northeast, but he did not expect that Chiang Kai-shek's arrangement made him very angry.
It turned out that the 3 divisions of the 60th Army were all placed along the railway line, and some stations had only one platoon or even one squad, and the troops were too scattered, so it was easy to be defeated by the PLA one by one.
Although Zeng Zesheng was very dissatisfied and bitter in his heart, he obeyed Chiang Kai-shek's orders and commanded his troops to fight with the People's Liberation Army.
Zeng Zesheng was also a reader and had a revolutionary education, and most importantly, he knew that if he continued like this, his troops might fail, so why did he stubbornly listen to Chiang Kai-shek?
Chiang Kai-shek
According to insiders' recollections, Zeng Zesheng had a strong blind obedience to Chiang Kai-shek, and he believed that Chiang Kai-shek "led" the Northern Expedition and was the "successor" of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the leader of the Nationalist Government, and even more with the Whampoa Military Academy and millions of troops in his hands.
The most important thing is that Zeng Zesheng was cultivated by the warlords of Yunnan, and he and Long Yun and Lu Han have very deep ideological feelings and interests. Therefore, Zeng Zesheng listened to Chiang Kai-shek's words very much, and even had a sense of blindness.
Zeng Zesheng's concerns were not wrong, in late May 1946, the People's Liberation Army suddenly launched a counterattack in southern Liaoning, and the 184th Division of the 60th Army was in danger.
The Kuomintang Northeast Commander's Department ordered the New First Army to transfer two divisions to the rescue, but Sun Liren, the commander of the New First Army, stressed: "The troops have been fighting continuously, and the soldiers have long been exhausted. Subsequently, he refused to carry out the military order.
With no troops to support him, and with the commander of the 184th Division, Pan Shuoduan, tired of Chiang Kai-shek's civil war policy, he decided to take the division headquarters and the 552nd Regiment to revolt in Haicheng. This was the first time that the Kuomintang army had raised the banner of righteousness on the front line of the civil war in the northeast, and Chiang Kai-shek was very angry.
The 184th Division was a unit of the 60th Army, so their uprising was a very painful blow to Zeng Zesheng.
Du Yuming
In order not to be scolded by Chiang Kai-shek, the commander of the Northeast Security Forces Du Yuming and deputy commander Zheng Dongguo, they pushed everything on Zeng Zesheng's body, who was not only scolded by Chiang Kai-shek, but also weakened by the military power.
In February 1947, Zheng Dongguo stationed the newly built 184th Division from Ximan to the Meihekou, but within two months of the transfer of the 184th Division, it was defended by the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army, completely cutting off the communication between the Meihekou and the outside world.
On May 25, the People's Liberation Army attacked meihe, and after five days of fierce fighting, the defense of meihekou was destroyed, and the 184th Division, which had been rebuilt for only half a year, was once again completely annihilated. At this time, although Zeng Zesheng no longer had the responsibility of commanding troops in combat, he was still criticized by Chiang Kai-shek.
In the following time, the 60th Army suffered successive injuries from the People's Liberation Army, and the morale of the soldiers plummeted, and even became war-weary. Less than a year and a half after the 60th Army came to the northeast, it suffered three heavy losses and heavy losses.
In July and August 1947, Zhang Chong, the elder of the Dian Army and Zeng Zesheng's old superior, and Pan Shuoduan, who had revolted in Haicheng, wrote a letter to Zeng Zesheng, asking him to recognize the face of Chiang Kai-shek of the Kuomintang, not to follow Chiang Kai-shek to continue the civil war, and to take the line of opposing Chiang Kai-shek's uprising.
After receiving the letter, Zeng Zesheng was very entangled, whether it was right or wrong for him to continue to follow Chiang Kai-shek now, whether he wanted to revolt or continue to follow Chiang Kai-shek. Perhaps sensing Zeng Zesheng's entanglement, Chiang Kai-shek, in order to prevent Zeng Zesheng from defecting, specially sent his eldest son Chiang Ching-kuo to the northeast to comfort the 60th Army.
According to Qiao Jingxuan's recollection, "When Chiang Ching-kuo's plane left, I saw that Commander Zeng was very uneasy, and even had a feeling of flattery, and I could see that he was approaching Chiang Kai-shek ideologically. ”
Due to the continuous attacks of the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army, Chiang Kai-shek had to appoint Zeng Zesheng as the commander of the Jilin Garrison, and combined the railway traffic police unit and some local armed forces, which were originally commanded by Liang Huasheng, into the 52nd Division, which was under the management of the 60th Army.
I thought that Zeng Zesheng would always be loyal to Chiang Kai-shek, but I did not expect that the next incident had greatly changed his thinking.
At that time, after the 60th Army entered Changchun, it had a conflict with Chiang Kai-shek's concubine army, the New Seventh Army. In Changchun, the Sixtieth Army and the New Seventh Army were bounded by Zhongshan Road, and the eastern part of the road, including the suburbs, was defended by the 60th Army, while the west of the road and the suburbs were defended by the New Seventh Army.
Although the size of the defenses of the 60th Army and the New Seventh Army is similar, the equipment is very different. The New Seventh Army is well equipped, not only has a large amount of grain, but also has a very sufficient amount of ammunition; on the other hand, the 60th Army is not only short of clothing and food, but even the ammunition is not very sufficient, and there is no sufficient ammunition.
The most important thing is that officers above the company level of the New Seventh Army have jeeps, and leaders of the army and division have cars; and the 60Th Army, except for Zeng Zesheng, who has two dilapidated cars, the other officers have no cars at all.
At first, the supplies of the two armies were about the same, but gradually the 60th Army had half rice and sorghum rice, and then all of them were sorghum rice, and finally the 60th Army got only soybeans.
The soldiers of the 60th Army were frequently angry, and one day the commander of the 21st Division could no longer bear to complain to Zeng Zesheng: "The anger of the troops who have been subjected to the concubines in recent years is really too much, why is it that we are the ones who fight desperately and desperately, but it is they who are rewarded?" I've had enough of all this shit! ”
It was precisely because of these things that the balance in Zeng Zesheng's heart gradually tilted, and finally in the autumn of 1948, he decided to oppose the Chiang Kai-shek uprising!
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="104" > Zeng Zesheng surrendered and became the commander of the 50th Army of the People's Liberation Army</h1>
From September 22, Zeng Zesheng and others began to prepare for the uprising, and through the policy of "talking with their hearts", they soon rallied cadres with insurrection ideas around them.
In early October, Zheng Dongguo commanded the Changchun defenders to make a breakthrough, but unfortunately failed. On October 10, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the Changchun defenders to continue their breakthrough and move closer to Shenyang. Zheng Dongguo held a meeting after receiving the order, at which most people believed that there was a way out of the breakthrough.
Zeng Zesheng saw that this place wanted to take advantage of the situation and let Zheng Dongguo determine that he would not break through, so as to facilitate the 60th Army's uprising.
Zeng Zesheng said at the meeting: "Now the Changchun defenders have no food to eat, the soldiers are very weak, we do not have the strength to break through the siege of the People's Liberation Army, if we force a breakthrough, then the consequences will be unimaginable, it is better to preserve strength and continue to hold on!" Zeng Zesheng's remarks were agreed by Zheng Dongguo and others.
On October 13, Zeng Zesheng believed that the work of the uprising was ready, and after consultation, Zeng Zesheng and others jointly wrote a letter calling for an uprising, which was handed over to the People's Liberation Army that besieged the city for inspection, and the letter showed their determination to revolt.
In addition, Zeng Zesheng also put forward several requirements:
First, after handing over the 60th Army to the People's Liberation Army, it is hoped that the troops will not be too scattered when reorganizing;
After the uprising of the Second and 60th Armies, it is hoped that the People's Liberation Army can treat all people equally, and if there are people who do not want to stay in the army, special care should be given;
Third, the unit can be restructured, but the main person in charge of the unit should not be replaced.
Zeng Zesheng asked Zhang Bingchang and Li Zheng to send the letter first, but surprisingly, 3 days had passed, and they still did not get news from each other. While everyone was anxiously waiting, Zheng Dongguo called and asked him to go to the corps headquarters immediately.
This phone call made Zeng Zesheng and others very nervous, was the matter of their uprising leaked? Zeng Zesheng responded to all changes with no change, and his face did not change color, and at this time he had completely put his life aside.
Before Zeng Zesheng left, he said to Bai Zhaoxue and Long Yao: "Before I return, I can't leave the army, even if the sky falls, if Zheng Dongguo detains me, you must be careful, you must not be detained, you must not be held down, nor can you be threatened by him, you must proceed according to the original plan!" ”
Zeng Zesheng made the worst plan, and at the same time explained his own aftermath to the two men, which is enough to see from here that Zeng Zesheng was different from other Kuomintang. He didn't care about his own life or death, he only cared about the future and safety of the warriors.
After Zeng Zesheng arrived at the corps headquarters, he learned that it was Chiang Kai-shek who personally ordered the Changchun garrison to break through to Shenyang, and this time to discuss the breakthrough of the whole army on the 18th. After Zeng Zesheng returned to the army, he waited for news from Zhang Bingchang and Li Zhengxian while thinking of other ways to revolt.
On the evening of the 16th, Zhang Bingchang and Li Zhengxian finally returned, and on the morning of the 17th, Zeng Zesheng deployed the rebel troops to hand over the defense areas according to the information brought back by the two men. At 8 o'clock in the evening of the same day, the handover of the defense land officially began.
At dawn, the 60th Army withdrew from Changchun and then went to Jiutai County for recuperation. After the 60th Army handed over the defensive land to the People's Liberation Army, Chiang Kai-shek's consort troops, the New Seventh Army, were isolated and helpless, and In desperation, Zheng Dongguo and Li Hong had no choice but to lead their troops to surrender and Changchun was peacefully liberated.
The Changchun Uprising was zeng Zesheng's second departure from the Kuomintang army, and it was also the one in which he no longer had any expectations of the Kuomintang army and left completely.
On January 2, 1949, the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China awarded the former Kuomintang 60th Army, an insurrectionary force, the name of the 50th Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, with Zeng Zesheng as its commander.
After Zeng Zesheng's surrender, he did his best and did many things for our army. In July, the 50th Army entered the south of Guannan, and in late October, in the Battle of Western Hubei, it sought out the remnants of the 79th Army that annihilated Song Xilian in the Xiang'e Border Region, and captured more than 6,000 people under the commander Xiao Bingyin.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="108" > participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea and made outstanding military achievements</h1>
In May 1950, Zeng Zesheng led the Fifty Army back to the northeast of the division, and because his health was not too good, the organization let him recuperate at the Wulongbei Recuperation Center.
In September, when Zeng Zesheng learned that the central authorities had decided to send volunteer troops to fight in Korea, he took the initiative to ask for war and asked to lead the Fifty Army into the DPRK to fight, which was approved by Mao Zedong and the Central Military Commission.
The 50th Army moved north from Hubei and, on the orders of the Central Military Commission and the head of the Volunteer Army, rushed into Korea on October 25, 1950 to participate in the war. In the first battle, the 50th Army was ordered to intercept the enemy attacking in the direction of Chushan and Sinuiju, and set up defensive lines in Andong and Sinuiju to ensure the rear safety of the volunteer soldiers.
In the first and second battles, although the 50th Army did not participate in major battles, the morale of their whole army was very high, and they held the enemy back with great enthusiasm, so as to achieve the purpose of cooperating with friendly forces.
After the end of the second campaign, the head of the Volunteer Army transferred Cai Zhengguo, deputy commander of the 40th Army, as the deputy commander of the 50th Army to assist Zeng Zesheng in commanding the operation, which also made the 50th Army more and more powerful.
After the first two battles, the enemy was severely attacked by the volunteer soldiers, who were forced to retreat to the area south of the 38th Parallel. After being defeated, the enemy did not lose heart, but became more and more frustrated and courageous, and tried to attack again. In order to annihilate the enemy and sabotage their plans, our army decided to concentrate its main forces to break through the 38th Line.
On December 15, 1950, the 50th Army was ordered to participate in the third campaign, and on December 30, the third campaign was officially launched, and our army began a full-scale offensive. At the beginning of the battle, the volunteers broke through the 38th line that Mike had held, causing the enemy to flee in a hurry.
After Zeng Zesheng saw the enemy fleeing, he hurriedly ordered the divisions of the 50th Army to pursue them separately. The 149th Division of the 50th Army pursued the enemy along Goyang to Seoul, and after 3 hours of fierce fighting with the enemy, cut off the rear road of the enemy tank battalion responsible for covering the retreat.
On the night of January 3, 1951, a battalion of the 445th Infantry Regiment and the 446th Infantry Regiment each deployed on the Fomi Division Road north of Seoul, cutting the enemy tank marching column into several sections and implementing front blockade and rear interception. The enemy's tanks were damaged, and our army blocked their rear roads, causing the enemy to be in a mess, and they did not know what to do.
At this time, the companies of our army organized anti-tank teams and launched a fierce attack on the enemy with grenades, explosive packs, and explosive canisters. After 3 hours of fierce fighting, our army annihilated the Royal Tank Battalion of the Enemy 29th Brigade, blew up 27 tanks and 3 cars, and captured many tanks and weapons.
After crossing the Linjin River, the 148th and 150th Divisions pursued the enemy who fled south, and at the same time as the 39th Army, they entered and occupied Seoul, shocking the world.
Peng Dehuai
On January 11, 1951, Peng Dehuai, Deng Hua, Hong Xuezhi, and others jointly telephoned the various armies and reported to the Central Military Commission, especially praising the 446th Regiment of the 149th Division: "During the New Year's Offensive of the 149th Division of our 50th Army, due to the rapid and active action of all the commanders and fighters, they seized the British 29th Brigade and the first part of the US Army near Gaoyang and dealt a heavy blow. This decisive combat action deserves to be studied by the whole army and praised by special orders! ”
After the third battle, the morale of the soldiers of the 50th Army was even higher, and the whole army established the confidence of daring to fight and win.
After that, Zeng Zesheng personally visited the division and regimental positions to understand the battle situation and command the battle, and he encouraged the commanders and fighters to flock to kill the enemy, in addition to constantly going deep with other army leaders to the front-line positions to study the battle situation.
On January 31, 1951, Peng Dehuai issued a commendation to the 50th Army in the name of the leader of the Headquarters of the Volunteer Army, with special equipment of the 148th Division and the 447th Regiment of the 149th Division, which were inseparable from Zeng Zesheng's command, and he was also deeply encouraged.
One day Zeng Zesheng met Peng Dehuai at the headquarters of the Volunteer Army, and Peng Dehuai clasped his hands tightly and said: "The 50th Army has fought very well, you command it well, I want to give you the 50th Army replenishment, and give you priority in changing new clothes!" ”
Zeng Zesheng was a little embarrassed to hear Peng Dehuai's praise, he said: "Our 50th Army has tried its best, and we can finally raise our heads in front of the brother troops." Zeng Zesheng's words are sent out with feeling, but the "look up" in it is not very appropriate.
When Peng Dehuai heard Zeng Zesheng say this, he pretended to be angry and said: "What are you talking about, what is 'looking up', isn't it the unit reorganized by the uprising?" I Peng Dehuai, like you before, were all from the old army, I Peng Dehuai never treated you as an outsider, the 50 Army has a lot of communists! We are all family, but you and I are not separated! ”
Zeng Zesheng was very touched to hear Peng Dehuai say this, he had always been uneasy that the 50th Army was an insurrectionary unit, he was afraid that other units would look down on the 50th Army, but he did not expect that in Peng Dehuai's heart, whether it was the 50th Army or other units, it was a family!
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="109" > returned to North Korea immediately after being received by Chairman Mao</h1>
It is no accident that Zeng Zesheng was able to contribute to the people in the not long time after the uprising, and it is not an accident that he received such an appraisal, which is inseparable from his assiduous study of Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought.
In Zeng Zesheng's military career, the most memorable thing for him was the concern of the party and the state for him, especially the scene where Chairman Mao had received him cordially twice.
Chairman Mao
In April 1951, while the 50th Army was resting in China, Zeng Zesheng returned to Beijing to reunite with his family, and within a few days he received news that Chairman Mao wanted to see him. This was Zeng Zesheng's first meeting with Chairman Mao, and he was more or less nervous.
On this day, Zeng Zesheng followed the staff to Zhongnanhai with excitement and nervousness, and Chairman Mao cordially greeted him and chatted with him about many things at home and abroad.
In addition, Chairman Mao also asked Zeng Zesheng about the Korean battlefield, and what was surprising was that Chairman Mao was very clear about the situation in the Korean battlefield, and not only carefully inquired about the 50-day and night battles in the north and south of the Han River, but also talked about many other things.
What Zeng Zesheng did not expect was that Chairman Mao not only knew very well the situation in the forward positions, but also knew all the names of the places in depth and the stations of some detachments. Every time Chairman Mao asked a question, Zeng Zesheng admired him one more point.
At the end of the conversation, Chairman Mao asked Zeng Zesheng the specific location of a second-line detachment station, which made Zeng Zesheng difficult. Zeng Zesheng's mind was blank, he didn't know how to answer Chairman Mao, and his face turned red in no time.
Chairman Mao also saw Zeng Zesheng's embarrassment, and he took the initiative to say: "I just ask at will, but your 50th Army fought really beautifully in the Korean battlefield!" ”
After this conversation, Zeng Zesheng immediately returned home to his wife and said: "Hurry up and pack your bags, I can't stay in Beijing for a day, I want to go back to North Korea immediately!" ”
Zeng Zesheng's words made his wife very confused: "Didn't you just come back?" How did you leave so quickly, and what the hell was going on? ”
Zeng Zesheng said: "You don't know, today Chairman Mao asked me many questions at the grassroots level, and I can't answer any of them; my commander is too much of a failure, and I want to go back to the battlefield as soon as possible to learn more!" ”
In this way, Zeng Zesheng once again set foot on the Korean battlefield and fought together with other volunteer soldiers.
In April 1955, after the 50th Army was ordered to withdraw to the motherland, one day in May Chairman Mao received Zeng Zesheng again in Zhongnanhai, and Chairman Mao clasped Zeng Zesheng's hands tightly and said, "You have fought well!" ”
Zeng Zesheng said modestly: "Compared with the brother troops, we are still far behind. ”
After the two talked for a while, Zeng Zesheng plucked up the courage to say to Chairman Mao: "Chairman, I want to make a request to you. Chairman Mao said, "If you have any demands, say what you want!" ”
Zeng Zesheng said: "I ask you to approve me to join the Communist Party!" ”
Chairman Mao nodded with great satisfaction, and then said: "I am very happy that you can make this request, it seems that your consciousness has not been low in recent years, but in fact, you do not need my approval to join the Communist Party." ”
Chairman Mao paused and said, "But I still think it would be good if you didn't join." Chairman Mao's words made Zeng Zesheng very confused, and he asked: "Chairman, why is this?" ”
Chairman Mao said: "Now that Chiang Kai-shek is desperately attacking us, your temporary non-entry into the party will play a greater role, and for the sake of the interests of the motherland, how about you wait for a while?" Zeng Zesheng nodded, he understood that Chairman Mao did this for the great cause of the motherland. Although Zeng Zesheng never joined the Communist Party in his lifetime, his heart was with our Party.
At the ceremony in 1955, Zeng Zesheng was awarded the rank of lieutenant general and awarded the Liberation Medal of the First Class.
Zeng Zesheng died in Beijing in February 1973, and his memorial service was presided over by Xiao Jinguang, and Ye Jianying, Hu Yaobang and others all attended the memorial service and gave him a high evaluation...