In 1940, in Xiangyang, General Zhang Zizhong was unfortunately killed in a battle with the Japanese army, at the age of 50. Chairman Mao personally inscribed for him the inscription "Serve the country with all due loyalty."
On the way to transport the remains to Chongqing for burial, more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians spontaneously came to the river to kneel and pay their respects and send the general on his last journey. At this time, the smoke of the battlefield must not have dissipated, and the Japanese fighters flew back and forth three times over Zhang Zizhong's coffin, but did not drop a single bullet.
Why did Zhang Zizhong win the respect of his enemies? What credit did he have for the war?
Zhang Zizhong
First, Zhang Zizhong's life
Zhang Zizhong was born in 1891 in Linqing, Shandong. His father worked as an official for the Qing government and grew up in a wealthy family. His father attached great importance to his education, and from an early age he entered a private school to study, and often followed his father everywhere. Due to the influence of the family, the ideology is still relatively feudal.
Later, Zhang Zizhong was admitted to the Beiyang Law and Politics School and came into contact with Dr. Sun Yat-sen's "Three People's Principles" thought. Faced with this new thinking, Zhang Zizhong was greatly shocked in his heart. In the first year of entering the university, Zhang Zizhong, who was inspired by his ideas, threw himself into the revolution and secretly joined the League.
After graduation, Zhang Zizhong entered Feng Yuxiang's army, was appreciated by Feng Yuxiang, and rose all the way. After the unification of the Nationalist government, Zhang Zizhong was incorporated into the Northeast Border Defense Army and served as the commander of the 38th Division. Later, this team was reorganized into the 29th Army, which was famous in the War of Resistance.
II. From a Hero of the War of Resistance to a "Shameful Traitor"
On the night of July 7, 1937, the Japanese deliberately created friction and demanded to enter Wanping City to search under the pretext that a soldier was missing. Faced with such absurd reasons, the soldiers of the 29th Army guarding Wanping City naturally would not agree. The two sides fought fiercely on the Lugou Bridge, which was the "July 7" incident that shocked China and foreign countries. In just one day, the enemy organized three attacks, and the soldiers of Wanping City stubbornly resisted and fought bloodily.
Shortly after the July 7 Incident, Chiang Kai-shek telephoned Song Zheyuan and told Him several times to "never stay in Beiping again and immediately go to Baoding to take command."
At noon on July 28, Song Zheyuan, head of the 29th Army, summoned his generals to an emergency meeting. At the meeting, a decision was made: The commander Song Zheyuan led the main forces of the Twenty-ninth Army to withdraw from Beiping. Zhang Zizhong, on the other hand, stayed behind to maintain the situation in Beiping.
After General Zhang received the order, he said to the deputy commander Qin Dechun with a weeping smile: "Now that you and Mr. Song have become national heroes, I may have become a traitor that everyone shouts and beats!" ”
Because the generals present here knew that with the thin troops left behind, it was impossible to defend such a large city.
According to the order, the main army of the 29th Army began to withdraw from Peiping City, leaving only four regiments stationed in the city. In desperation, Zhang Zizhong had to negotiate peace with the Japanese Kou and delay the gathering of a large number of men and horses of the 29th Army.
The people of Beiping City, when they went out early in the morning, found that the large troops of the nationalist army in the city had all withdrawn outside the city and were ready to abandon the city. On the wall, however, there were an anmin notices signed by Zhang Zizhong. Comparing the two, public opinion was in an uproar, and overnight Zhang Zizhong, the hero of the War of Resistance, became a traitor that everyone shouted and beat.
The media who did not know the truth made a big report, and Zhang Zizhong was given all kinds of unbearable insults, such as "breeding", "traitor", and "traitor". The newspaper even prominently headlined "Zhang Zizhong is 'Zhang Rebellion and Self-Loyalty'" as a satire on him for "self-loyalty."
During the negotiations, the Japanese army threatened to bombard the city and demanded that no nationalist troops could be stationed east of the Yongding River. The Kuomintang superiors were too optimistic, believing that the Japanese army did not dare to attack Peiping on a large scale. However, the Japanese army had long harbored wolf ambitions, and they promised not to bomb Peiping again. On the other hand, he wanted to blackmail Zhang Zizhong and ask him to inform the whole country and declare the independence of Peiping. For a moment, Zhang Zizhong was in a dilemma.
In desperation, he had to hide in a German hospital for the time being, and then leave Beiping in disguise. On August 6, Zhang Zizhong resigned from all acting positions. However, under these difficulties, Zhang Zizhong managed to maintain in Beiping City for eight days, delaying the retreat of the people in the city.
From a hero of the War of Resistance to a shameful traitor, it is unbearable for anyone. Not to mention Zhang Zizhong, a person with a very strong sense of self-esteem and honor. Inner torment and mental pressure, others can not imagine at all. This encounter dealt a fierce blow to Zhang Zizhong's heart. In the midst of a round of insults, Zhang Zizhong chose to endure the humiliation and bear the burden and try to deal with the enemy. It is necessary to buy time for the evacuation of the large troops of the 29th Army and the ordinary people in the city, and strive to save Beijing and Tianjin from the danger of slaughtering the city.
Afterwards, there was a great deal of condemnation of Zhang Zizhong within the Kuomintang. Some people even believe that Zhang Zizhong should go to a military court and accept punishment.
On October 8, 1937, General Zhang Zizhong was dismissed from his post by Chiang Kai-shek for "abandoning his responsibilities and losing his territory". Under the intercession of Song Zheyuan and others, he became an idle errand attached to the military and political department.
Third, wash away grievances with your life
At that time, his home country was lost, and Zhang Zizhong, who saw the country's life ruined, was unwilling to be passive. He wrote a blood letter and asked Chiang Kai-shek to let him go to the front line to fight and die on the battlefield.
In the end, under the active promotion of Li Zongren, Cheng Qian, and Song Zheyuan, Zhang Zizhong was able to return to the 59th Army as a commander. The 59th Army was the expansion of the original 38th Division, and Zhang Zizhong was also considered to have returned to the original unit.
At this moment, Zhang Zizhong knew that he was the body of "wearing a crime and making meritorious deeds", and only by going into battle to kill the enemy and remove the enemy's head could he ask for forgiveness from the people of the whole country.
After the reinstatement of the official, the first battle Zhang Zizhong faced was a great fierce battle.
In Linyi, the 59th Army led by Zhang Zizhong met the Japanese Kou, and the two sides fought for seven days and seven nights. This battle prevented the Japanese from sending large numbers of troops to the front line of Taierzhuang. He made a significant contribution to the victory of the Battle of Taierzhuang.
Later, in the Battle of Xuzhou and the Battle of Wuhan, there were 59th Army led by Zhang Zizhong. Zhang Zizhong was born and died with his comrades-in-arms and fought heroically on the front line. Successfully smashed the Japanese conspiracy to invade the hinterland of China. Later, his reputation also grew, and even the enemy admired Zhang Zizhong's command military ability and spirit of not being afraid of death.
In 1940, the Japanese army of 300,000 troops launched the Battle of Zaoyi in an attempt to control the traffic on the Yangtze River. In this way, the transportation line to Chongqing will be cut off, and the army will be cut off front and back, and the consequences are unimaginable.
At the imminent moment, Zhang Zizhong made a decision and volunteered to lead the army to fight. In this battle, Zhang Zizhong's side only had 1500 people, while the Japanese army had more than 6000 people, and the two sides had a huge difference in strength. But Zhang Zizhong and the warriors did not flinch, fighting fiercely with the enemy for days and nights.
Two days later, under the fire of enemy aircraft and artillery, Zhang Zizhong's troops suffered heavy casualties. Most of the troops were annihilated by the enemy, leaving only a few hundred men. When fighting the enemy, Zhang Zizhong, who was on the front line, was shot in the left arm and could only be roughly bandaged. In such a crisis, the enemy could capture him alive at any time, but he still let his guards go to the front for reinforcements. In the end, only a few officers were left.
Unfortunately, under the dense enemy artillery fire, Zhang Zizhong's troops were completely destroyed, and Zhang Zizhong was martyred.
Zhang Zizhong's handwriting
Subsequently, the Japanese army cleared the battlefield and found that Zhang Zizhong had a pen engraved with his name on his body. Only then did the Japanese army know that Zhang Zizhong had actually died in battle. This news was soon reported by the Japanese Kou layer by layer.
The Japanese high-level Kou who learned the news was shocked. In wars large and small, very few senior officers are willing to advance and retreat with their soldiers and die on the front line when they are alive and dead. Zhang Zizhong's spirit of accompanying the troops to fight until the last moment was greatly shocked. The Japanese army deeply admired his loyalty and courage, and in order to show respect, they took off their hats and saluted Zhang Zizhong's body. Later, he was solemnly buried in a coffin and buried on the slope of the ten-mile long mountain where he was martyred. The news of Zhang Zizhong's death was broadcast to the local people.
Knowing that Zhang Zizhong was killed in battle, the whole army was sad and indignant, and secretly attacked the Japanese army overnight to retrieve Zhang Zizhong's body. When General Zhang Zizhong was buried, he found a total of 8 wounds on his body, including 2 shell wounds, 1 bayonet wound, and 5 gunshot wounds.
As the convoy sending Zhang Zizhong's body passed through Yichang, over Zhang Zizhong's coffin, Japanese planes flew back and forth three times, but never dropped a single shell.
After the founding of New China, Zhang Zizhong was posthumously named "National Hero of The War of Resistance Against Japan" and "Revolutionary Martyr" by the people's government. Zhang Zizhong's peace talks with rikou in Beiping were also carefully studied by people, and finally he had to be innocent.