On July 7, 1937, after the Lugou Bridge Incident. The Nationalists were still not determined to fight the Japanese, and the 29th Army was responsible for the defense of the Peiping area.
The commander Song Zheyuan put Zhang Zizhong in charge of staying in Peiping as a "buffer", but within a few days the Japanese captured Beijing.
After the news came out, all circles pointed out that Zhang Zizhong was a "traitor."
As the scolding raged, everyone began to liquidate his various "pro-Japanese" words and deeds since the 1930s. Some even threatened to send him to a military court, but later survived the difficulties after Song Zheyuan and Li Zongren tried to protect him.
Zhang Zizhong felt humiliated in his heart and tried to use his life to regain his dignity from the battlefield.
After he wrote a blood letter to his superiors to return to the 58th Army, the first words he said to the soldiers were: "Today's return to the army is to take everyone to find a dead end and see where they will die for the country in the future!" ”
In August 1940, Zhang Zizhong was killed in the Battle of Zaoyi, and yingling was ready to be transported back to Chongqing for burial. Passing through Yichang, tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians were buried. The Japanese military plane hovered over Yichang for three consecutive days and was ordered to stop the bombing, while none of the soldiers and civilians chose to take shelter.
First, the absolute general, the military and the people look up to
Late at night on August 16, 1940, a message suddenly appeared on the Japanese radio station in Hankou late at night. It is claimed that the Japanese 39th Division found the body of Zhang Zizhong, commander-in-chief of the Kuomintang 33rd Group Army, when sweeping the battlefield along the Yichenggou in Hubei Province.
In the radio, the Japanese praised General Zhang Zizhong as a "great general of the last generation", calling him "not alarmed in the face of danger, calmly dying", which is actually "a great husband worthy of the common admiration of the military and the people".
He also said that he was ready to transport Zhang Zizhong's body to Hankou.
The Japanese said it with conviction, but the Kuomintang did not believe it for a while. During the battle, the Thirty-third Army and the rear radio often interrupted contact. Zhang Zizhong was actually surrounded by the enemy precisely for this reason, and finally died heroically.
At first, the Kuomintang concluded that this was a smoke screen released by the enemy to disturb the hearts and minds of the army. The Chongqing side sent a telegram overnight to inquire about the situation, and the reply was that Zhang Zizhong had lost news since the 15th. It was not until two days later that the circumstances of the death were confirmed.
The person in charge of the Chongqing side was shocked to hear the bad news, and while grieving, he sent a telegram to comfort the three armies and demanded that Zhang Zizhong's remains must be recovered. Later, it was learned that General Zhang's body had been recovered that night.
When General Zhang Zizhong died, his daughter Zhang Lianyun was only seventeen years old, and she had not seen her father for three years. At this time, her mother, Li Minhui, was terminally ill and was lying on a hospital bed. When Zhang Zizhong's seventh brother told Li Minhui the news to Lady Zhang, Li Minhui's spirit was already in a trance. Within three months, he passed away.
Zhang Zizhong, a native of Linqing, Shandong, entered a private school at the age of 6, studied Zhongxiao Renyi, and joined the revolution at the age of 20. In 1936, he became the mayor of Tianjin, and originally acted on orders and consulted the Nanjing government, but he was maliciously attacked as a "traitor".
At that time, he sent a telegram to his superiors to show his heart: "Yu You read the scriptures and knew a little about the spring and autumn righteousness. How can you do something to be sorry for the nation and the patriarchs? "But no one believed him.
After the fall of Peiping, the people's misunderstanding of him reached its peak. He took the initiative to ask Him to go to the front to fight the Japanese, and despite the opposition of his superiors and Soviet advisers, he went to the battlefield with the determination to die.
Second, Dan heart to serve the country, the big festival without loss
When General Zhang Zizhong wanted to personally come to the battlefield, Li Zongren once advised him: The commander-in-chief of the group army should not personally go to the front line. The Soviet adviser said: The commander-in-chief of the group army personally went to the front, which was unheard of, and hoped that he would think clearly
。
However, Zhang Zizhong insisted on going to the front line in person. It's not that he's rushing into it, or that he's reckless and impulsive. Rather, it was because he bore the bad reputation of being a "traitor" and could not repay his innocence without blood.
Around 1935, Zhang Zizhong served as the chairman of Chahar Province. The Japanese saw his position and deliberately divided his 29th Army, creating contradictions within the Chinese army.
The Japanese originally tried to win over Song Zheyuan, the commander of the 29th Army, but did not succeed.
As a result, the Japanese spread rumors everywhere that Zhang Zizhong was a "pro-Japanese faction" of the 29th Army in an attempt to divide the 29th Army. Later, Zhang Zizhong was ordered to become the mayor of Tianjin. The people have long suspected that he is "pro-Japanese", and at this time, they feel that he is a "traitor".
Ordinary people have no way of knowing the Policy of the Kuomintang Authorities toward Japan, because before the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, some people had been trying to stabilize the Japanese. Therefore, he asked Song Zheyuan, as long as he did not lose his power and humiliate the country, he tried his best to deal with the Japanese.
Song Zheyuan saw that there was no intention of fighting above, and he also wanted to preserve his strength. Therefore, through the Japanese artificial rumor that Zhang Zizhong was "pro-Japanese", he came to a "plan for the sake of calculation", and let Zhang Zizhong, who was "pro-Japanese", go around with the Japanese.
At that time, the key members of the Kuomintang misjudged the situation and thought that there was still talks with Japan, so Zhang Zizhong was sent to Tianjin. Later, the Japanese wanted to fight Beiping, and Zhang Zizhong was transferred to Beiping.
Before the July 7 Incident broke out, the Japanese also invited Song Zheyuan to visit Japan in order to confuse the Nanjing side. Song Zheyuan knew that the situation was not right and was unwilling to wade through muddy waters, so he arranged for Zhang Zizhong to go to Japan.
After the people in China heard the news, they insulted Zhang Zizhong in various ways. Not only did he call him a "traitor", but he also put together his portrait with a painting of a Japanese woman and made up paragraphs to insult him.
But in fact,
During Zhang Zizhong's visit to Japan, he did not commit acts of mourning power and insulting the country. Instead, after Zhang Zizhong arrived in Japan on April 26, 1937, he expressed his heart to the students in Tokyo. Saying that their patriotic feelings are the same as those of international students, they will never be sorry for the country and the nation.
Later, the International Exposition opened, because the Chinese pavilion was facing the pavilion of the puppet Manchukuo, Zhang Zizhong protested on the spot, demanding that the other party withdraw, otherwise return to China immediately, and the Japanese promised to let the opposite side close the pavilion.
After the July 7 Incident, the "peace talks" with the Japanese were not zhang Zizhong's own master. Therefore, it is unfair to put all the responsibility on him alone and let him bear the name of "traitor".
Unfortunately, in the end, public opinion has been formed, leaving him speechless. He had to leave his wife and daughter and prove his innocence by martyrdom
！
epilogue
Patriotism, for a patriotic soldier, must be proved with his own blood and even his life.
General Zhang Zizhong used his life and blood to prove his patriotic enthusiasm and personality.
After returning to the battlefield, he "fought in the first battle of Shuishui, then fought in Linyi, fought in Xuzhou in three battles, and followed jujube in four battles" and finally Ma Ge wrapped his body back. With his actions, he let the people of the country see the great personality of a patriotic general. Therefore, tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians came to see him off without fear of war, and the Japanese military planes also stopped dropping bombs for three consecutive days!