"You don't study well in Peiping, what are you doing in the ravine?!"
This was a question from Yang Chengwu, then commander of the Independent Regiment of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army, when he saw a group of female students who came to admire his name after fighting the Battle of Pingxingguan.
Yang Chengwu's words aroused the dissatisfaction of this group of enthusiastic young people who came from afar, and this group of female students with an average age of only sixteen or seventeen years old immediately refuted this anti-Japanese hero with all their tongues:
"We're going to fight the Japanese devils!"
"The country is prosperous, and the piaf is responsible!"
"At the juncture of the life and death of the nation, how can we study with peace of mind?"
Yang Chengwu, who came from a political worker background and had always been able to speak eloquently on weekdays, was momentarily dumbfounded by this group of girls, and could only order his subordinates to take this group of girls down to go through the enlistment procedures.
What Yang Chengwu did not know at that time was that the girl in this group took the lead in refuting herself, and the girl with the loudest voice and the most resolute attitude actually became his wife in the future.
▲ Yang Chengwu in the War of Resistance Against Japan
The girl who led the debate to victory was named Zhao Zhizhen, formerly known as Zhao Xiuqin, a native of Yi County, Hebei Province.
Zhao Xiuqin was born in 1921 in a peasant family.
Although the family's income is meager, her father attaches great importance to the education of her children, and has sold a few acres of land in the family for her children to study.
Therefore, Zhao Xiuqin was able to complete primary school in her hometown and Tianjin, and then she came to Beiping and studied at Beiping Girls' No. 2 Middle School.
During Zhao Xiuqin's middle school studies, on the eve of the Japanese imperialists' attempt to launch an all-out war of aggression against China, in the face of the advancing Japanese Kou, the Kuomintang authorities still gave in step by step, selling out large areas of land under the pretext of "foreign countries must first be safe inside," resulting in tens of millions of compatriots becoming slaves of the country.
Under these circumstances, patriotic students in the Pingjin area, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, launched the "129" patriotic salvation movement.
Zhao Xiuqin also participated in this huge movement, and under the introduction of her teacher Zhang Su, she joined the Chinese National Liberation Vanguard, a peripheral organization of the Communist Party of China, which was established in 1936, and joined the party in the same year.
After the July 7 Incident in 1937, the national War of Resistance broke out, and in the face of the Japanese attacking troops, the Kuomintang army lost its division and lost ground, and successive fiascos were lost, and North China was about to fall completely.
In this case, Zhao Xiuqin united several female classmates with the strongest will to resist Japan, determined to go south to their hometown to resist Japan, before leaving, Teacher Zhang Su changed Zhao Xiuqin's name to Zhao Zhizhen. Since then, this name has been with her throughout her life.
▲ Yang Chengwu and his wife Zhao Zhizhen at the wedding
On July 23, 1937, Zhao Zhizhen and his party boarded the last train before the Pinghan Line was suspended, went south to Baoding, and returned to their hometown of Yi County.
At this time, the main force of the Eighth Route Army crossed the Yellow River in the east and went to the anti-Japanese front, so Zhao Zhizhen dragged a few good classmates to the troop station, and under their soft and hard entanglement, finally joined the army and became a glorious soldier of the Eighth Route Army.
After completing three months of recruit training, Zhao Zhizhen was first assigned to the Political Department, mainly responsible for mobilizing the masses and carrying out the people's movement, and later with the establishment of the Jin-Cha-Ji base area, she also served as the director of the Women's Rescue Association in Yi County.
Yang Chengwu was soon appointed commander and political commissar of the 1st Military Subdistrict of Jin-Cha-Ji, and the headquarters of the sub-district also happened to be located in Yi County.
▲ Group photo of Yang Chengwu and his wife Zhao Zhizhen
The two sides were initially just a normal working relationship, but in contact, they gradually deepened their mutual understanding, on the one hand, Zhao Zhizhen admired and admired Yang Chengwu, and Yang Chengwu also began to gradually like this girl who once made him eat.
The two sides began to communicate, and Yang Chengwu often took the time to find reasons to go to the Political Department or the Women's Rescue Association to find Zhao Zhizhen.
More and more like this innocent and brave girl, especially after learning that Zhao Zhizhen is also a communist, Yang Chengwu is even more moved, so that sometimes for a week or two without seeing each other, he will find a reason to go to the Political Department or the Women's Rescue Association to see her.
As the feelings between the two sides deepened, Yang Chengwu was determined to break through the layer of paper between the two sides.
▲ During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the personnel of the headquarters of the First Sub-district of Jin-Cha-Ji took a group photo in Yi County
One night in the late autumn of 1938, Yang Chengwu began to write love letters to Zhao Zhizhen with a hard scalp, until late at night, Yang Chengwu was still repeatedly conceiving the content of love letters, this was the first time in his life to write love letters, if girls were unwilling, how embarrassed should the two sides be, and how to get along in the future?
Yang Chengwu pondered for a long time before he finally made up his mind and wrote his first and only love letter in his life:
Comrade Zizhen: I wanted to have a private conversation with you for a long time, but because of the environment and various other reasons, I never found a good opportunity, and as a result, I still have not fulfilled my wishes to this day, and it is a pity to drag this important matter to this day.
Now, in order to fulfill my long-held wish, I write this simple letter to have my first conversation with you!
We are all cadres of the Communist Party, our tasks and purposes are the same, although we have differences in origin between the north and the south, but we are fighting on one front, one task, for the above reasons, I have a suggestion to you today——— we hold hands intimately to be friends of the opposite sex, okay? Agree! I hope you give me a reply.
It's already midnight, everyone has already gone to sleep and rested, because of the relationship of time, I can't talk about everything I want to talk about to you at once, tonight on this short paper, I have to leave it for later, right? I wish you progress and health!
After Yang Chengwu plucked up enough courage to write this letter, it was almost dawn at this time, and he carefully put the letter into the envelope and examined it back and forth several times before lying down and resting.
But what Yang Chengwu did not expect in his dreams was that the love letter he racked his brains to write, the first line of the girl's name was written wrong.
As a result, the next morning, when Yang Chengwu's guards quietly handed the letter to Zhao Zhizhen and told her not to tell others, Zhao Zhizhen still thought it was a confidential document, when she opened the envelope and saw the letter, she was immediately made to cry and laugh, fortunately, this little wrong girl did not go to her heart, she estimated that Yang Chengwu heard her name "Zhizhen" as "Zizhen".
The day after receiving the letter, Zhao Zhizhen found Yang Chengwu and showed his attitude.
During the war, there was no time before the moon, and they then sent a report to Comrade Nie Rongzhen, commander of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, asking for marriage.
▲Group photo of Yang Chengwu's family of three
So Yang Chengwu and Zhao Zhizhen held a brief and lively wedding ceremony in Beichengzi Village, Laiyuan County, on the 8th day of the love letter, that is, on November 28, 1938, with the approval of the organization, and married as revolutionary partners.
After only one day of wedding leave, Yang Chengwu and Zhao Zhizhen went back together to engage in intense work and battle.
Because the Jin-Cha-Ji base area seriously threatened the Japanese-controlled areas in Hebei and Shanxi, and the sub-district commanded by Yang Chengwu was the most effective sub-district in Jin-Cha-Ji, it was also the main offensive target of the Japanese puppet army.
Yang Chengwu commanded his troops to continuously give the enemy a head-on attack, and the enemy army also launched a large-scale sweep of the 1st Division again and again.
At the end of 1939, because our army killed Lieutenant General Norihide Abe, the brigade commander of the 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Army, at Loess Ridge, it caused the Japanese army to sweep the base area of our base again.
▲ The troops of the First Division of Jin-Cha-Ji prepared to ambush the Japanese army
Zhao Zhizhen, who was already pregnant, had to follow the troops to quickly move to the mountains, on the way she suddenly felt severe abdominal pain, which was about to give birth, the troops hurried to a small village not far away to find a family, boiling water to prepare to deliver Zhao Zhizhen.
But the water had not yet boiled, and suddenly there was information that the pursuing enemy was coming soon, and the village was likely to be surrounded at any time.
Everyone hurriedly helped Zhao Zhizhen ride a mule to move urgently, and after walking about a few kilometers, new information came that the enemy had not come, and it was a false alarm just now.
So everyone hurriedly took Zhao Zhizhen back to the village to continue to give birth.
While everyone was preparing to deliver the baby, they were also ready for rapid transfer, and they stayed up until the second half of the night in fear, and Zhao Zhizhen finally gave birth to a girl.
It was only 2 days after the birth of the child, and the enemy really came.
Since the troops had been transferred at this time, the villagers heard that it was Commander Yang's wife and children, and without saying a word, they used the door panel as a stretcher, and carried Zhao Zhizhen and his daughter to flee on the rugged mountain road.
Because the mountain road is difficult to navigate, and it is night, the villagers tie the mother and daughter to the door panel to prevent them from slipping to the ground. At night, several fellow villagers took turns to carry, and they had to go out for dozens of miles to get rid of the enemy's pursuit.
After dawn, the Japanese planes bombed and strafed the vicinity again, and Zhao Zhizhen asked the villagers to put her down and quickly hide, but the villagers insisted on carrying the mother and daughter to continue to advance.
In this way, these compatriots carried their mother and daughter over 2 mountains in a row, and finally sent Zhao Zhizhen to a relatively safe village not far from the headquarters of the first division, and finally ended this thrilling journey.
▲ As the most powerful sub-district in the Jin-Cha-Ji base area, it was the key target of the Japanese puppet army's sweep, and the battles were extremely frequent and fierce
It was only at this time that Yang Chengwu, who was plagued by war, took the time to look at his wife and newborn daughter, but then hurried away and continued to the fierce battle.
Because this time was too thrilling, Yang Chengwu and Zhao Zhizhen considered that the child was too small, the fight was very frequent, and it was very inconvenient to bring it with them, and after discussion, they decided to put the child in the home of their fellow villagers and bring the child back after the situation improved.
After that, as the Japanese army began to gradually withdraw the main force of the frontal battlefield back to carry out a large-scale attack on the battlefield behind our enemy, Yang Chengwu's burden became heavier and heavier, and the battle became more and more fierce and cruel, and the husband and wife lived a life of gathering less and leaving more.
In the early winter of 1943, Yang Chengwu led his troops between Wufengzhai and Wolf's Tooth Mountain to negotiate with the Japanese puppet army that was carrying out winter sweeps for more than two months, and due to overwork and poor conditions in the base area, he became malaria.
There was no medicine at all in the troops, only hard, he had a high fever, sometimes sober, sometimes confused, and his condition was repeated for several days, and he never got better.
At this time, the troops intercepted reliable information, and the main force of the Japanese puppet army was about to attack The Wolf's Tooth Mountain.
In order not to drag down the troops, Yang Chengwu took a few soldiers to find a secluded small mountain village near Wufeng Village, where he wanted to recuperate and return to the army when his condition improved.
▲The former site of the headquarters of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region
After Zhao Zhizhen heard the news, she disguised herself as a commoner and rushed to the village with her daughter to visit her husband.
She found some herbs from her hometown and wanted to treat Yang Chengwu's illness.
When the husband and wife met, Yang Chengwu, who had a high fever, only looked at Zhao Zhizhen vaguely and fell asleep again.
Zhao Zhizhen patiently accompanied the seriously ill Yang Chengwu, she whispered Yang Chengwu's name, while talking to her husband to maintain his sanity, and at the same time constantly put a towel soaked in cool water on Yang Chengwu's forehead to reduce the fever.
Under the meticulous care of Zhao Zhizhen, Yang Chengwu's condition gradually improved, not only did he have a fever, but he was also conscious, but his body was still very weak and he could not walk on the ground.
However, the intelligence that a senior general of the Eighth Route Army was recuperating in the village was reported by the traitors to the nearby Japanese puppet army.
One morning, the landlord brought breakfast to Yang Chengwu, yang Chengwu had just begun to eat, the guards rushed in, and a group of Japanese troops were rushing towards the village at the speed of forced marching.
No sooner had the guards finished reporting than gunshots rang out from the east hill, and the enemy had taken control of the nearby commanding heights, and then Japanese planes appeared over the village and carried out dive bombing against the village.
▲ The troops of the First Sub-district of Jin-Cha-Ji went to the front line to fight
Yang Chengwu, who had not yet recovered, immediately made a decision and ordered the guards to prepare to break through with him and his wife and daughter.
Zhao Zhizhen knew that the bigger the target, the easier it was to be exposed, and after marriage, she who had always listened to Yang Chengwu at this time re-revealed the momentum of Yan Zhao's children when the two first met, and she was determined to sacrifice herself to attract the attention of the enemy and give Yang Chengwu a chance to break through, and she rejected Yang Chengwu's order:
"No, it's too late, you go first, leave me alone!"
Yang Chengwu was still hesitating at this time, and Zhao Zhizhen continued to urge:
"Let's go!" Hurry up and give the order! ”
Yang Chengwu refused to abandon his wife and daughter to break through alone, and he struggled to stand up:
"Let's go together, what about leaving you behind!"
Zhao Zhizhen saw that Yang Chengwu was still undecided, and she couldn't care less, she hugged her daughter, and then rushed up to push Yang Chengwu out of the gate, and at the same time ordered the guards who were waiting outside the door in an unquestionable tone:
"Quick! Leave us alone and move away with the commander at once!" ”
Then several guards immediately carried Yang Chengwu, who was still shaking, to a mule and covered his rapid breakthrough towards the Western Mountains.
Yang Chengwu saw his wife holding her daughter and returned to the house, so anxious that he loudly ordered the guards on the mule:
"Go back! Pick them up and go with you! ”
The guards said nothing and said no:
"Commander, your safety is important, you can't leave that way!"
At the same time, desperately whipping the mule, he ran west as fast as he could.
At this time, a small group of Japanese troops rushing down from the East Mountain pursued Yang Chengwu and his party while shooting, they chased for a while, watching Yang Chengwu disappear behind the mountain, knowing that they could not catch up, they had to turn around and surround the village.
▲ Nie Rongzhen, Yang Chengwu and other leaders of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region took a group photo
After Yang Chengwu overturned the West Mountain under the cover of the guards, he refused to leave anymore, he broke free of the guards, raised his telescope and looked at the village.
By this time the Japanese had stormed the village, then entered his sick house to search, and set the house on fire, and only after the house had turned to ashes did the enemy leave.
Yang Chengwu did not see his wife, daughter and landlord, he once thought that they had all been killed by the enemy, and his heart was so painful that he almost couldn't control himself.
Fortunately, Zhao Zhizhen hid in a nearby cave with the assistance of his landlord, escaped the Japanese army, and successfully returned to Yang Chengwu's side the next night.
Yang Chengwu, who has never easily revealed his feelings, held his wife's hand tightly and cried with joy.
Years later, Zhao Zhizhen recalled the incident, saying:
"I admire Yang Chengwu, for whom I am willing to work, pay hard work, even when we must give up one or the other, I am willing to give my life."
Of course, Yang Chengwu also did not forget his wife's deep affection.
▲ In 1955, Yang Chengwu was awarded the rank of general
In 1944, with the development of the battlefield situation behind enemy lines, the troops of our Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region turned to the counter-offensive.
In order to strengthen the struggle against the enemy and resolve to restore the Jizhong base area, Yang Chengwu was appointed commander of the Jizhong Military Region.
When he left the First Division of Jin-Cha-Ji for his post, Yang Chengwu bid farewell to his wife and daughter, and Zhao Zhizhen and his children sent him to the gate, and Yang Chengwu repeatedly said to them:
"Go back, don't send it again, you'll see you later!"
Zhao Zhizhen only said one sentence:
"Be careful on the road."
I couldn't say it anymore, and as for my daughter, who was only 5 years old, she cried even more, reluctant to let her father leave.
Yang Chengwu did not dare to look back, and finally left his wife and daughter with a hard heart and ran to the front line.
Yang Chengwu and Zhao Zhizhen's children born during the war years were just full moons and had to be entrusted to the local masses to raise.
Every time she wanted to leave her children, Zhao Zhizhen always couldn't help but cry with sadness, but during the war years, she couldn't take her children to march and fight, so she could only endure the pain and leave.
Their children had two daughters and a son who died tragically, and each time this parting caused Yang Chengwu and Zhao Zhizhen great pain, but they turned their grief into strength each time and continued to devote themselves to revolutionary work.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Yang Chengwu and Zhao Zhizhen finally had the opportunity to take the children back to their side.
However, because the area where they were located had been seen by the enemy and us several times, it was already a matter of things and people, and it was not easy to find a few children who did not understand things.
With the strong assistance of the local government and the army, after many efforts, they finally found 3 children.
Because they have not seen their biological parents for many years, the children have completely unknown their biological mothers, and they are dead set on pulling their adoptive parents unwilling to go home with Zhao Zhizhen, which makes Zhao Zhizhen very guilty.
In the decades that Yang Chengwu and Zhao Zhizhen lived together, Zhao Zhizhen carefully kept her husband's diaries, speeches and correspondence over the years, and no matter how critical the situation was, she always carried these precious materials with her.
During the most difficult years of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, she took people to find a cave in the Taihang Mountains and buried these materials on the spot.
After the national victory, she took people to retrieve all these materials.
These materials, together with Zhao Zhizhen's diary, became indispensable and valuable materials for future historians to study the revolutionary career of General Yang Chengwu.
▲ After liberation, Yang Chengwu and Zhao Zhizhen were married together
On September 9, 1992, on Zhao Zhizhen's 71st birthday, Yang Chengwu personally wrote a poem to his wife:
After decades of ups and downs, the sea is dry and the stone is rotten.
Everyone praises at home and assists in major events.
Looking at the inscription given to her by her husband, Zhao Zhizhen was very moved, and she said to Yang Chengwu:
"I didn't do much for you, it was all I should have done, and I'm ashamed."
October 27, 1998, is Yang Chengwu's 84th birthday, and November 28 is their 60th wedding anniversary, that is, the anniversary of the diamond wedding, Zhao Zhizhen gave a gift to Yang Chengwu on this day, this is the love letter that Yang Chengwu wrote to himself 60 years ago, even the name is wrong, at the moment of receiving the gift, even Yang Chengwu, who has experienced hundreds of battles, is extremely moved.
▲Yang Chengwu, Zhao Zhizhen and their spouses and the staff around them took a group photo
Yang Chengwu and Zhao Zhizhen passed away in 2004 and 2018 respectively, their love story was born in the flames of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the long years did not consume their feelings, and the life they walked together will be forever remembered by future generations.
References are "Biography of Yang Chengwu", "Self-Description of General Yang Chengwu" by the People's Liberation Army Literature and Art Publishing House, "The Annals of Yang Chengwu" by the Liaoning People's Publishing House, and the People's Liberation Army Publishing House
Author/Zhou Hongxin