One day in 1955, the conference room in Zhongnanhai was brightly lit. The leaders of new China are discussing the important matter of conferring military titles.
Regarding the evaluation of military ranks, the vast majority of people have no objections, and only a few people say that their ranks are low and they are emotional. Chairman Mao, in the past few days, has been angry about this matter, and he has also left a sentence: The boy has tears and does not flick, only because he has not yet arrived at the time of the title. At this time, Yang Chengwu, commander of the Beijing Military Region, suddenly reported to the chairman that there was a person who also had an opinion on his own rank evaluation, and felt that he had not made such a great contribution and should not be rated such a high rank. After hearing this person's name, the chairman smiled heartily and said: "According to merit, contribution and qualifications, he should be awarded the rank of general, and whoever has an opinion cannot be reduced, even if it is himself!" This admiral, he can't not be wanted, not only that, but I also want to give him a first-class liberation medal! ”
The general in the chairman's mouth is Dong Qiwu, a famous anti-Japanese general, a veritable patriotic general.
The road to military service
Dong Qiwu was born into a poor peasant family in Hejin County, Shanxi. His family's "poverty" is not the general "poverty", when his grandfather died, in order to buy a coffin, their family and landlords borrowed usurious loans. In order to pay off his debts, Dong Qiwu's father worked for the landlord's family for thirty years. Unable to raise him, Dong Qiwu was sent to his grandmother's house when he was three or four years old. When he was 6 years old, he entered a private school run by his uncle to study the history of the scriptures.
Dong Qiwu is talented and intelligent, but his heavy debts make him have to carry the burden of his family too early. At the age of twelve, he began working as a miner in a black coal kiln, earning a few poor copper plates a day. Later, he noticed that there was a lack of resting place for pedestrians on the mountain road, so he opened a small stall specializing in tofu soup. Relying on this small, exclusive stall, he eventually paid off his family's debts. After that, Dong Qiwu did not become a businessman, but studied harder. Later, his literary talent was appreciated by his uncle's friends and sponsored him to enter the county elementary school. Here, he was exposed to new ideas and gradually had the idea of serving the country from the military.
In 1919, Dong Qiwu heard a news that changed his life: the warlord Yan Xishan opened a Bin Ye Middle School with military courses in Taiyuan City, and is now enrolling students. He hurriedly took care of the family affairs and embarked on the road to study. Because of poverty, Dong Qiwu could not afford to get a car, so he spent 8 days and walked 80 miles to Taiyuan. In the entrance examination, Dong Qiwu won the championship with profound knowledge and successfully entered the school with the first place.
After graduation, Dong Qiwu wanted to continue his studies, but the environment in Shanxi at that time forced him to change his original intentions. Once, he offended the aide-de-camp of the Governor's Office of Yan Xishan for a trivial matter, and was asked to write a so-called "letter of repentance." Dong Qiwu felt that the fault was not his fault, so he refused. But what awaited him afterwards was all kinds of unfair suppression. After coming and going, Dong Qiwu knew that he had no development opportunities in Shanxi, so he angrily left the school and went to Shaanxi to join the army. After the warlords fought, although Dong Qiwu had outstanding ability, his development was still not as good as he wanted, and he had to rely on selling clothes to pay for the road. At this moment, he heard that Fu Zuoyi was recruiting troops and buying horses, so he gladly went there. Here, Dong Qiwu participated in the Battle of the Central Plains, defeated the "old owner" Yan Xishan, and was promoted to regimental commander by virtue of his military achievements.
The road to anti-Japanese resistance
Dong Qiwu's anti-Japanese road began earlier than most Of the Kuomintang generals. In 1931, he was originally stationed in Suinan, and his main duty was to suppress bandits. However, after the "918" incident, Dong Qiwu felt that the nation was in danger and took the initiative to ask Miao to go to the northeast. In the end, this matter was not resolved, but Dong Qiwu's national feelings can be seen.
In 1933, the Japanese invaders attempted to seize Rehe, which triggered the famous "Shanhaiguan Incident", and the influential "Great Wall War of Resistance" began. In April, some of the invaders pointed the signs of attack to huairou and shichang, which happened to be Dong Qiwu's defensive zone. He led the whole regiment of fighters to fight back, repelled more than a dozen enemy attacks, and effectively protected the city of Beijing. Because of the stubborn resistance of the Chinese army, the Japanese army ultimately failed to succeed and had to sign the Tanggu Armistice Agreement. Dong Qiwu was also awarded the First Class Meritorious Service Medal for his good performance.
In 1936, the Japanese army and its accomplice, the Mongol King, intended to invade the Suiyuan area. Fu Zuoyi once again ordered his troops to fight back, and the famous "Suiyuan War of Resistance" began. At this time, Dong Qiwu, who had been promoted to brigade commander of the 218th Brigade, led his troops to attack in the night, unexpectedly annihilated a division of the Japanese puppet army stationed in Honggeltu, and shot down an enemy plane. This was the first battle of the Suiyuan War of Resistance, and Dong Qiwu made a good start.
In 1937, the Lugou Bridge Incident broke out, China's all-out War of Resistance officially began, and Dong Qiwu was also given the best opportunity to display his talents. He had never attended the Whampoa Military Academy, and was also a marginal figure among the Kuomintang generals, so he was less influenced by the ideas of the diehards and had no prejudice against the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, which had always held high the banner of anti-Japanese resistance. Therefore, he had a good relationship with the Eighth Route Army and often fought jointly. In the Battle of Chabei and the Battle of Pingxingguan, Dong Qiwu fought together with the Eighth Route Army and dealt a heavy blow to the invaders. In the Battle of Hexinkou, Dong Qiwu was shot in the leg and bleeding profusely, but he still insisted on commanding the battle until he passed out. This spirit of his also inspired the fighting spirit of his troops. In the following Battles of Taiyuan, Suinan, Baotou, and Suixi, Dong Qiwu and his troops repeatedly made meritorious achievements, dealing a heavy blow to the arrogance of the invaders.
The Battle of Wuyuan, which took place in 1940, can be regarded as the culmination of Dong Qiwu's anti-Japanese career. In the spring of that year, in order to plunder the natural resources of the Suixi area, the Japanese invaders dispatched the so-called "Imperial Mongolian Mining Investigation Mission", which had more than 100 Japanese mining experts. Called experts, most of them are spies. Led by a lieutenant general from the Japanese Imperial Family, these men led an army to the banks of the Yellow River. After Dong Qiwu learned the news, he immediately led the 101st Division to block the outskirts of Wuyuan. After 3 days of fierce fighting, Dong Qiwu completely annihilated the Japanese army, and even the royal lieutenant general was killed in the battle. After this battle, Dong Qiwu rose to prominence and was promoted to deputy commander-in-chief of the Jin-Shaanxi-Sui Border Region.
Led the uprising, and Korea made meritorious contributions
In the winter of 1945, with the extinguishing of the anti-Japanese flames, the domestic situation became increasingly tense. At this time, Chiang Kai-shek was actively preparing for a civil war, and Fu Zuoyi and Dong Qiwu were the vanguard soldiers he had installed in north China, and they seized Suiyuan, an important town in north China, at the first time. In order to gain strategic initiative, the Party Central Committee decided to launch the Suiyuan Campaign led by He Long and Nie Rongzhen. After judging the situation, He Long decided to attack Baotou first. At this time, it was Dong Qiwu who defended Baotou. The two sides fought two major battles on November 12 and December 2, and due to the lack of ammunition, He Long finally failed to successfully capture Baotou, and the Suiyuan Campaign ended hastily. Immediately after the battles of Jining and Zhangjiakou, Dong Qiwu once again defeated the People's Liberation Army in North China and occupied Zhangjiakou. Because of this merit, Dong Qiwu was also promoted to chairman of the Suiyuan Provincial Government and commander of the security of Suiyuan Province.
In the years that followed, the Kuomintang Central Army fought several battles with the People's Liberation Army, gradually showing signs of defeat. On the other hand, however, the corruption and accumulation of high-ranking Kuomintang officials have also begun to intensify. Dong Qiwu was a peasant boy, and what he hated most was corrupt officials, so he began to be disappointed in the Kuomintang government and no longer actively participated in the civil war. Chiang Kai-shek also sensed the emotions of Fu Zuoyi, Dong Qiwu, and others, and constantly used his official positions and gold bars to win them over. But the wheel of history can no longer be stopped by these small favors.
In 1949, the Pingjin Campaign ended and Peiping was peacefully liberated. Dong Qiwu, who had long been trapped in Suiyuan, was very envious of Fu Zuoyi in Beiping City at this moment, and also hoped to take the road of peaceful liberation. But there are many generals under him, and he can't guarantee that everyone has a heart with himself. Therefore, with the help of our Party, Dong Qiwu opened an innovation committee and an innovation academy in his own jurisdiction, and held a large number of forums and lecture meetings to explain the truth to his subordinates with practical examples. For those who were really stubborn in their thinking, Dong Qiwu adopted methods such as dismissal and house arrest to prevent them from sabotaging the uprising. He also adopted the method of resolutely suppressing and banning the spies in his jurisdiction, and actively encouraged them to confess and expose them. Although Suiyuan was still nominally a territory of the Kuomintang at this time, its internal transformation had been completed by Dong Qiwu. On September 19, 1949, Dong Qiwu led more than 40,000 people under his command to successfully revolt, and Suiyuan was peacefully liberated!
After the uprising, Dong Qiwu's unit was reorganized into the 23rd Corps of the People's Liberation Army, and he continued to serve as commander. Dong Qiwu continued to carry out ideological transformation within the troops, and the results were remarkable. Later, Chairman Mao once said to Fu Zuoyi with great satisfaction: "It is gratifying that the 23rd Corps has made such great and rapid progress. After that, Chairman Mao personally received Dong Qiwu at Fortress Garden and encouraged him to join the party.
In 1951, the Korean War broke out, and Dong Qiwu led the 23rd Corps into Korea and participated in the war as an engineer. Their main task is to build an airfield. With no air superiority, the commanders and fighters of the 23rd Corps working on a large open space were very dangerous. However, with the joint efforts of the military and the people, the task of building the airport was successfully completed in only three months. The airport is larger, with 3 airport runways, 8 aprons, 193 aircraft bunkers and various ancillary projects in Qinchuan, Yuanli and Nanshi, which were also complete at that time. The airfield later became a hub for the volunteers to maintain supplies, contributing to the eventual victory of the Korean War. Later, the Republic Air Force was born and became a world air force power, which also had a credit to Dong Qiwu.
Title concerns
Dong Qiwu's life is worthy of his status as a soldier and worthy of the title of a famous general. However, after the uprising, there was always a hurdle in his heart that could not be overcome. Initially, the blockade of the People's Liberation Army in the Suiyuan area delayed the progress of the Liberation War, which always made Dong Qiwu feel guilty. Unexpectedly, in the spring of 1955, he suddenly received the news that he would be awarded the rank of general. Dong Qiwu felt sincerely frightened, and immediately wrote a letter to Chairman Mao requesting a demotion, asking Yang Chengwu, commander of the Beijing Military Region, to forward it.
After reading the letter, Yang Chengwu said: "We have all been fighting the War of Resistance for 8 years, you are 12 years old, and you have worked hard and made great achievements." You also made great contributions to the Suiyuan Uprising and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. I tell you, giving you titles is not your personal business, it is a matter of trust and future for all the insurrectionists. ”
Dong Qiwu insisted on his own ideas and said: "I am a person who has committed great sins in history, how can I be compared with a revolutionary general who has made great achievements in battle?" He insisted on demotion, Yang Chengwu had no choice but to hand it over, so the scene at the beginning of this article occurred.
At Chairman Mao's insistence, Dong Qiwu's rank as general was fixed. Together with Chen Mingren and Tao Zhiyue, he became the "Three Admirals of the Uprising" in the history of New China. Moreover, Chairman Mao did not renege on his word and really awarded Dong Qiwu the Order of Independence and Liberation of the First Class. After that, Dong Qiwu repaired the reservoir, consolidated coastal defense, and devoted all his efforts to the happiness of the Chinese people. In 1980, under the personal instructions of Chairman Deng Xiaoping, he gloriously joined the Communist Party of China. In 1989, Dong Qiwu died in Beijing at the age of 90.
Throughout Dong Qiwu's life, he has no regrets as a soldier. Although there have been conflicts with the People's Liberation Army, it is a camp issue, each is its own master, there is no right or wrong. However, the bravery and firmness he showed toward the Japanese aggressors and the American aggressors were beyond the reach of ordinary people. He can afford to be a shining star on his shoulder, and he is enough to deserve the title of hero.