Speaking of the fate of the famous Huangpu generals in the Kuomintang army, in addition to following Chiang Kai-shek to defeat Taiwan, there were those who heroically martyred in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, such as Yang Jie and Dai Anlan; some who led their troops to revolt into the people's camp during the civil war, such as Chen Mingren and Liao Yunzhou; some who were killed by the PLA in the civil war, such as Zhang Lingfu and Qiu Qingquan; and some who were captured by the PLA during the civil war, such as Wang Yaowu and Du Yuming.
But there is a general who is very special, he is neither captured nor a real uprising, but forced to "revolt" after the defeat of the army, not only from prison, but also after his death, he was also jointly mourned by both sides of the strait. He is Zheng Dongguo, one of the recognized "Top Ten Famous Generals of Huangpu".
Zheng Dongguo entered the Huangpu Phase I at the age of 22, and at the age of 23, he was famous in the battles of Tamsui and Mianhu in the Eastern Expedition, and was deeply appreciated by Chiang Kai-shek; in the bloody battle of Kunlun Pass, he tried to turn the tide of the tide and there were only more than 30 people left in the highlands, and the regiment commander requested to retreat, Zheng Dongguo: I will cut off your head after losing your position! He was distinguished in the burmese conquest; in the first battle in the northeast, he fought the Democratic Coalition Army and retreated. By 1948, however, the situation had taken a sharp turn for the worse.
In September 1948, the Northeast Field Army launched the Liaoshen Campaign, jinzhou and Tashan artillery fire, Changchun home road was cut off, the Nationalist 100,000 troops were trapped. Can't hold on and can't go out.
Zheng Dongguo, as the deputy commander of the Northeast "Suppression General", led the headquarters of the 1st Corps of the Kuomintang Army stationed in the city center, the east city was defended by Zeng Zesheng's 60th Army, the western city was defended by Li Hongxin's 7th Army, plus the corps' direct subordinate units, police gendarmes, self-defense troops, etc., a total of 112,000 people, and about 100,000 people in the city. The military and civilians have long been out of food, hundreds of refugees flee to the suburbs every day, and children abandoned by refugees can be seen everywhere on the streets, crying and shouting for food from their fathers and mothers all day long.
Zheng Dongguo knew that he must break through now. However, after two days of breakout battles, there were many casualties, and the hope of rushing out was very slim. Zheng Dongguo could only continue to hold on to help.
On October 15, Chiang Kai-shek sent planes to airdrop the "Presidential Warrant" to the defenders of Changchun for 7 months: Strictly order the Changchun defenders to seize the breakthrough!
On the morning of October 16, Zheng Dongguo called a meeting between the commander and the chief of staff of the army, and Li Hong, the commander of the 7th Army, could not attend due to typhoid fever. Jeong Dong-kook conveyed the "Presidential Warrant". After Zheng Dongguo announced that an afternoon meeting would be held to discuss the breakthrough, Zeng Zesheng, commander of the 60th Army, said nervously: In the afternoon, he sent Xu Shumin, chief of staff, as a representative, and everything was subject to the commander's decision. Then hurried away.
Someone reported that the 60th Army was going to revolt! Zheng Dongguo was shocked and immediately called Zeng Zesheng, but the line had long been cut off. Jeong Dong-kook had no choice but to cancel the breakout plan.
On the evening of the 17th, General Zeng Zesheng led more than 26,000 people from 3 divisions to revolt, detained the officers who obstructed the uprising, and eliminated the rear troops of the New 7th Army in one fell swoop. After midnight, three divisions of the People's Liberation Army entered the city to take over the defense of the 60th Army. By noon on the 2nd, another group of PLA troops had marched into the city, completed the final encirclement of the New 7th Army, and entered a state of standby encirclement and annihilation.
Zheng Dongguo sat like a needle in the headquarters, in a dilemma. He rushed to the New 7th Army and saw that the commander Li Hongtuo was ill and was reluctant to say more. Other senior officers also unnaturally shunned them. Zheng Dongguo felt that the atmosphere was abnormal and hurried back to the corps headquarters. It turned out that the New 7th Army had sent people to contact the People's Liberation Army, and all of them were scheduled to lay down their weapons on the afternoon of the 18th. All this was done without the help of Zheng Dongguo.
On the evening of the 18th, Zheng Dongguo sat on the sofa in a coat all night, and his mood was extremely disturbed. Zeng Zesheng called, and the voice of the representative of the People's Liberation Army came from the earpiece: "Commander Li Hong has led his troops to lay down their weapons. Our policy is to lay down our arms and guarantee the safety of all human lives and property. Ask Commander Zheng to think twice about whether there is no need to make unnecessary sacrifices. ”
The news of the surrender of the New 7th Army once again shook Zheng Dongguo's heart like a bombshell, and he replied in a strong voice: "Since my corps has failed, I have nothing to talk about but to die in battle, and I absolutely cannot lay down my weapons." ”
Chiang Kai-shek wanted to send a plane to the roof of the Changchun Bank building where his headquarters was located to pick him up. Zheng Dongguo thought that 100,000 troops had been lost, and he had no face to go back, so he waved his pen and made a telegram: "The general trend has gone, and only death can be repaid with death..."
To this end, on October 24, Nanjing's "Central Daily" published an article: "Zheng Dongguo was heroic and fierce, and all 300 officers and soldiers were martyred."
However, Zheng Dongguo was not able to "become a ren".
In the early morning of the 21st, a fierce gunshot suddenly sounded outside the Changchun Bank building, and Zheng Dongguo thought that the People's Liberation Army had launched a final attack on the headquarters, and felt that it was time for him to "become a ren".
Zheng Dongguo, dressed in a military uniform, lay flat on the bed, reached under the pillow and took the pistol he had prepared to commit suicide. However, the hand touched under the pillow for a while, and the pistol was actually missing, and it turned out that the pistol had already been expected to do so, and the pistol was found and hidden.
Zheng Dongguo touched the gun and did not see it, quickly jumped up, afraid that he would become a prisoner of the People's Liberation Army in a little later, panicked and searched around the room for any instrument that could end his life, the sound of turning over boxes and cabinets alarmed the guards, the captain of the guard and 4 guards who had been waiting outside the door rushed into the room with a loud voice, shouting and hugging Zheng Dongguo, Zheng Dongguo gasped, fell down in hatred, and fell on the bed in despair.
A moment later, his chief of staff, Yang Youmei, hurriedly entered the room with some staff members and said with tears: "Gui Gong (Zheng Dong Guo Zi Gui Ting), the matter has reached the final moment, please hurry down and preside over the big plan!" Then he ordered the guards to lift Zheng Dongguo from the bed and hug him downstairs.
Coming to the hall on the first floor, Zheng Dongguo suddenly froze, and the inside and outside of the hall were already covered with the People's Liberation Army. Looking at his side again, the 4 guards were tightly surrounded behind him, lest he have another accident, Yang Youmei and other staff members also surrounded him, all looking at the commander in front of them with expectant eyes. Zheng Dongguo understood everything, and these subordinates were not willing to make extreme choices on their own. He had to agree to lay down his arms and wait for it.
Afterwards, Zheng Dongguo learned that Yang Youmei and his staff had quietly welcomed representatives of the People's Liberation Army and a small number of troops through secret contacts with the People's Liberation Army. They calculated, shot in the air, pretended to resist and caused a surprise, and the fact that the soldiers were on the command skillfully rescued their commander from the line of death.