In 1969, at a meeting of the Central Committee, Chairman Mao talked about the overall situation in the world, the situation on the Sino-Soviet border, and the preparation for war. Xu Shiyou took the opportunity to speak to Chairman Mao, saying that a few people who were very capable of fighting wars during the war years were having a very bad time now.
Who was Chairman Mao asking? Xu Shiyou talked about two people, one of whom was the famous Wang Jinshan, in addition to Wang Jinshan, there was also a person. It's just that Wang Jinshan's fame is so great that everyone ignores another person, who is Zhou Zhijian, a fierce general who can fight with Wang Jinshan.
Zhou Zhijian and Wang Jinshan are both Hubei people, Wang Jinshan is Hong'an, Zhou Zhijian is Dawu, and they are all children of Dabie Mountain. In 1929, at the age of 12, Zhou Zhijian asked to join the Red Army, and the troops thought he was small and did not want him. Zhou Zhijian insisted that I was soaked in bitter water and could eat any bitterness.
(Lieutenant General Zhou Zhijian)
Zhou Zhijian, who was not yet a rifle tall, fought very bravely and became a platoon leader in 1932. In 1933, at the age of 16, Zhou Zhijian was honorably admitted to the Party. Compared with Wang Jinshan, the relationship between Zhou Zhijian and Xu Shiyou is deeper.
In 1933, the Red Fourth Front army was expanded, Zhou Zhijian served as a battalion instructor in the 25th Division of the Red Ninth Army, Xu Shiyou was both the deputy commander of the Red Ninth Army and the commander of the Red 25th Division, he was the old chief of Zhou Zhijian. The young Zhou Zhijian was proud to be able to charge under the leadership of Xu Shiyou. When the war started, he was also very much like Xu Shiyou.
In 1934, the 17-year-old Zhou Zhijian was promoted to deputy regimental commander, and he was indeed a hero out of a teenager. In the defense of Wanyuan, Zhou Zhijian danced a large knife in his hand and engaged in a fierce hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, the large knife in his hand was made of pure steel, and after several rounds, the large knife was rolled.
Zhou Zhijian was also wounded in the battle. He was shot in his left hand and in the left chest. The bullet in the left chest was a penetrating wound, shooting from the back, and Zhou Zhijian immediately passed out. With such a serious injury, the comrades-in-arms all thought that Zhou Zhijian could not survive.
In those days, the sacrifice of regimental-level cadres was also a very common thing. Unexpectedly, Zhou Zhijian's vitality was very tenacious, and when his comrades-in-arms cleaned up the battlefield, they actually found that Zhou Zhijian still had a breath, and after being hospitalized and rescued, Zhou Zhijian miraculously survived and was promoted to political commissar of the regiment.
At the age of 17, he is at the level of the regiment. In 1936, the Red Army's Long March reached northern Shaanxi, and the 19-year-old Zhou Zhijian was promoted to the commander of the Red Tenth Division, becoming a full division. Why is it so young and promising? Zhou Zhijian was born into poverty and did not have any background, he was a general who killed with one knife and one shot, a general who was naturally selected by war, and a "Zhou blacksmith" who could not die.
(Second Zhou Zhijian from the left)
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Zhou Zhijian left Xu Shiyou and followed Li Xiannian to Henan to open up a base area and became an ace general under Li Xiannian. The Fifth Division of the New Fourth Army was established, with Li Xiannian as division commander and political commissar, and Zhou Zhijian as the brigade commander of the 13th Brigade.
In the great Central Plains Breakthrough Campaign, Zhou Zhijian was the deputy commander of the Second Column of the Central Plains Military Region, in order to cover the breakthrough of the main force, in order to meet the troops that had not yet broken through, Zhou Zhijian finally did not follow the main force to break out, he went through all kinds of hardships, from Nanjing to Yan'an.
The breakthrough in the Central Plains was a victory, but for Zhou Zhijian, he suffered a major setback, he and the main force were separated, the troops under his command were defeated, and they had to start all over again. In 1946, Zhou Zhijian was assigned to the Jiaodong Military Region, and the commander of the Jiaodong Military Region was Xu Shiyou.
Zhou Zhijian returned to the old chief's command. Xu Shiyou knew Zhou Zhijian, knew that he was a rare general, and wanted to directly appoint him as deputy commander or chief of staff, but Zhou Zhijian insisted on starting from the grassroots level, and in 1947, Zhou Zhijian was appointed as the division commander.
Zhou Zhijian, the commander of the division, was shot again in a battle, the seventh time he had been injured since his military career. The division commanders were all shot, which showed that Zhou Zhijian had many pioneers in fighting. During his hospitalization, Zhou Zhijian met the 19-year-old nurse squad leader, and they quickly married. This marriage story is very similar to Wang Jinshan.
The 13th Column of the East China Field Army was established, with Zhou Zhijian as commander and became a senior general in the East China Battlefield. The 13th Column was one of the main columns of the Shandong Corps led by Xu Shiyou, and Zhou Zhijian participated in the campaign to liberate Jinan.
(Zhou Zhijian, Xu Shiyou and Hu Qicai)
In 1949, the four major field armies were established, the 13th Column was reorganized into the 31st Army, and Zhou Zhijian became the first commander of this ace army. In 1955, Zhou Zhijian was awarded the rank of lieutenant general. It was also because of the problem of life style that Zhou Zhijian was demoted and expelled from the party and was sent to the Henan Provincial Military Region as deputy chief of staff.
Relatively speaking, Zhou Zhijian's punishment was not as heavy as Wang Jinshan's, but the founding lieutenant general of the country went to the provincial military region as a deputy, and Zhou Zhijian was also very unhappy. Xu Shiyou did not forget this old subordinate and asked Chairman Mao to reinstate him.
Chairman Mao asked, where will they work? Xu Shiyou replied, I want both. Chairman Mao also consulted Kang Sheng, who said that they had all been expelled from the party and were no longer party members, so how could they serve in the army?
Xu Shiyou has a way. He said: Jiangsu and Anhui provinces should set up production and construction corps, and they can first serve as deputy chiefs of staff of the production and construction corps, make a transition, and then resume their party membership and then take up posts in the military region. Chairman Mao agreed with this.
Zhou Zhijian, a famous general of a generation, made a successful comeback, first transitioned to the production and construction corps for a year, restored his party membership, and then went to the Nanjing Military Region, where he, like Wang Jinshan, became deputy chief of staff of the military region. After retiring to the second line, Zhou Zhijian also served as an adviser to the Nanjing Military Region, and died in 2005 at the age of 89.