In 1955, at the age of 41, Zhang Zhen was awarded the rank of lieutenant general, followed by the rank of general in 1988. Why would such a founding general call Qiu Weida his "teacher"? What is Qiu Weida's merit?
General Zhang Zhen was born in 1914 in Pingjiang County, Hunan Province, and this Qiu Weida was born in 1904 in Pingjiang County, Hunan Province, the two are fellow countrymen, but Qiu Weida is ten years older than General Zhang Zhen, although the two are fellow villagers, but the difference in family circumstances has created a completely different fate of the two, General Zhang Zhen's family is poor, after primary school was forced to drop out of school as an apprentice and then join the Red Army, but Qiu Weida is completely different, he first went to private school, then read primary school, when the May Fourth Movement broke out, Qiu Weida also participated with his classmates, and the subsequent consequence was to cause dissatisfaction among the British at the school, and Qiu Weida was expelled.
Qiu Weida did not dare to go home, afraid of being scolded, but at this time, Zhong Qiguang, who was studying in the county middle school, came to him and invited him to transfer to the county middle school, Zhong Qiguang was the later general Zhong Qiguang, and Qiu Weida became friends with Zhong Qiguang. Subsequently, Qiu Weida entered the Whampoa Military Academy and was a "high-quality student" in the fourth phase, with excellent results. After graduation, he participated in the Northern Expedition, and then he followed Ye Jianying to participate in the Guangzhou Uprising, but the uprising failed, and Qiu Weida fled to Shaoguan and then became a member of Wang Yaowu's staff under the introduction of the Huangpu Alumni Association.
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Qiu Weida could be said to have fought in blood, participating in the Battle of Luodian, known as the "Flesh and Blood Mill" in the Battle of Songhu, when he was a regimental commander under Wang Yaowu's 51st Division, and carried out a battle with the Japanese side, as small as every street and every house, and the two sides competed with each other. He was ordered to guard Luodian for eighty-five days and nights. Subsequently, due to the change in the war situation, the whole line retreated, and later participated in the defense of Nanjing, Qiu Weida also led the stubborn resistance of the troops, was shot in the left leg, and was carried down the battlefield in a coma.
He was later promoted to chief of staff of the Fourth Front of the National Revolutionary Army. Qiu Weida also participated in the Battle of Xuefeng Mountain against the Japanese army, achieved a great victory at Xuefeng Mountain, and annihilated more than 20,000 Japanese troops. It can be said that it made its own contribution to the anti-Japanese resistance.
In the War of Resistance Against Japan, Wang Yaowu appreciated him very much, and in the War of Liberation, Wang Yaowu became the commander-in-chief of the Shandong Military Region, while Qiu Weida withdrew from the front line, and for the sake of Qiu Weida's development, Wang Yaowu sent him to Zhang Lingfu's 74th Division as a deputy division commander, and the 74th Division has always been the ace unit of the Kuomintang, which shows that Wang Yaowu values him.
However, Wang Yaowu was unable to save the Kuomintang from retreating, this was the trend of the times, in the Battle of Menglianggu, Zhang Lingfu's 74th Division and Zhang Lingfu himself disappeared, Qiu Weida was training troops in the rear at that time, so he did not participate, but then he was ordered by Chiang Kai-shek to return to Linyi to collect the remnants and become the commander of the 74th Army, for which Qiu Weida commented decades later: "The rope was put on the neck again." It can be seen that he is very reluctant, as a professional soldier, he can understand that such a war situation can not be changed through him, and then on the Battlefield of Huaihai, he knows that the general trend has gone and leads his troops to surrender.
In the front row, from left, Qiu Weida
After the surrender, he stayed in Xu Shiyou's headquarters for three days, and organizationally knowing that he had a relationship with Wang Yaowu, he told him that Wang Yaowu was in Shandong, and Qiu Weida went to meet his former superiors and talk about the latest situation, and then he wrote a letter to his good friend Zhong Zhiguang, saying that he was going to start his life again, and Zhong Zhiguang also comforted him that as long as he worked hard, he still had the opportunity to serve the people.
After the founding of New China, Qiu Weida was invited by Marshal Liu Bocheng, when the military academy lacked instructors, and Qiu Weida, who had studied at the Whampoa Military Academy, worked at the military academy, and most of the military academies at that time were middle and high-ranking generals of the People's Liberation Army.
General Zhang Zhen, the vice president of the military academy at the time, visited him one day and called him "teacher", and Qiu Weida said that he was a defeated general and did not deserve to be called so. General Zhang Zhen said, "You have two more lucks than me." This sentence is the dialect of Pingjiang County, the luck is 5 years, and Qiu Weida is said to be 10 years older. Zhang Zhen also said, you are still a well-known Huangpu high-caliber student, who won three medals during the Northern Expedition and three medals during the War of Resistance, so how can you not call you a teacher? Qiu Weida was very touched, and then worked harder in the military academy, often returning to the dormitory late at night to rest, his wife advised him, but he said that he would make up for the wasted time in the first half of his life.
General Zhang Zhen
Qiu Weida taught at the Military Academy for 8 years, and then transferred to the local area and participated in literary and historical work. After that, he traveled to Hong Kong and Macao many times, hoping to contribute to the reunification of the motherland.
In 1998, Qiu Weida died of illness in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, at the age of 94.
Qiu Weida's life can be said to have devoted a lot to the country, the War of Resistance Against Japan fought bloodily, the War of Liberation was able to lead the surrender of the troops, and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he dedicated himself, which should be remembered by us and remembered by history.