Furious hair rushing to the crown, leaning on the railing, Xiao Xiao rain rest. Look up at the eyes, look up at the sky and scream, and be fierce. In 38 years, the second year of the all-round launch of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the form of the War of Resistance throughout the country shifted from the initial single-handed and passive response to the war to the strategic defense stage of cooperation between the two parties and the joint war of resistance. The Eighth Route Army belonged to the Fourteenth Army led by Wei Lihuang, the "Tiger General" of the Nationalist Army. It was later incorporated into the Eighteenth Army.
Wei Lihuang and his people
The grassroots-born Wei Lihuang followed Dr. Sun Yat-sen to join the revolutionary ranks, and was appointed battalion commander for his military exploits during the crusade against the warlord Duan Qirui. Because of his bravery, good fighting, resourcefulness, and rare general talent, he was later favored by the Nanjing government and appointed as the commander of the suppression of the communists. Although Wei Lihuang did not handle the issue of suppressing our army too ideally in the early days, he was one of the few "anti-war factions" within the Nationalist army in dealing with the issue of the War of Resistance. He made it clear that all the troops of the War of Resistance were treated equally in terms of military food, ammunition and other military salaries, and in October 37, Wei Lihuang organized and commanded the Battle of Xinkou, and in the course of the operation, he often contacted and consulted with the generals of the Eighth Route Army to coordinate the operation.
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Nationalist army sent Wei Lihuang to lead the 14th Army into Shanxi, with the aim of containing military strongholds and monitoring our army's actions. However, people are not as good as heaven, and the nationalist army, which has always been a battalion step by step, miscalculated this time. After Wei Lihuang arrived in Shanxi, he was fascinated by the heroic deeds of the Eighth Route Army in fighting against the enemy army. In the Pingshi Guanda Victory and Taiyuan Defense War, Wei Lihuang's attitude toward the Eighth Route Army took a one hundred and eighty-degree turn, praising the Eighth Route Army as a real unit of resistance. In terms of military supplies, Wei Lihuang personally called Wu Haide, the head of the quartermaster office, to purchase 10,000 yuan of condolences to send to the Eighth Route Army.
Trip to Yan'an
At the beginning of 38, Wei Lihuang and his troops were intercepted by the enemy and trapped on the banks of the Yellow River, in a dilemma. When Wei Lihuang was undecided, his secretary Zhao Rongsheng suggested that he take the road of northern Shaanxi and visit Yan'an by the way. Wei Lihuang did not dare to answer because of the sensitive issues between the two factions, but simply said casually: "I see that I want to go to see, but now that the war is tight, where is the time to go?" Zhao Rongsheng did not give up, and continued to exhort, "In fact, it will not take long, at most one day, you can meet with Mr. Mao and listen to his views on the war of resistance, this opportunity is rare, missed, next time I am afraid it will be difficult." ”
Wei Lihuang felt that his visit to Yan'an at this time was too sensitive, for fear of being framed by others as being suspected of being pro-Communist, and did not reply immediately. A few days later, the Nationalist army recruited Wei Lihuang to Luoyang for a meeting. The trip to Yan'an instantly became justified. Knowing that Wei Lihuang was going to visit Yan'an in person, the chairman personally instructed him to form a special team and take Wei Lihuang and his party seriously. After all, Wei Lihuang was the first senior official in the nationalist army to visit Yan'an, which was of great significance for cooperation. Some comrades in Yan'an at that time had many dissatisfaction with Wei Lihuang. At that time, Wei Lihuang was ordered to suppress our army, and our army suffered heavy casualties, and we must forget our hatred and receive it warmly, and many comrades said that they could not understand it.
Faced with different comments, the Chair explained:
Proceeding from the overall situation of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and winning the support of the senior generals of the Nationalist Army, there are hundreds of benefits and no harm in the issue of joint war of resistance; secondly, Wei Lihuang, as one of the few anti-war factions within the Nationalist Army, has also given assistance to our army in terms of military salaries and supplies. Therefore, this time, we must do our best to do a good job in receiving the reception work, so that the other side can feel the absolute sincerity of our army on the issue of the War of Resistance. "On April 17, just after dawn, a convoy of more than a dozen large trucks set off from Yanshuiguan and headed straight for Yan'an.
To Wei Lihuang's surprise, thirty miles away from Yan'an City, slogans such as "Strengthen Cooperation," "Unite and Resist War," and "Welcome Deputy Commander Wei" could be seen everywhere. Outside Yan'an City, in the distance, you can see the welcome teams lined up on both sides of the road early, the motorcade enters the city gate, the welcome gongs and drums are noisy, and the shouts of slogans are one after another. This scene made Wei Lihuang and his entourage very moved. Entering the Gate of Yan'an, Wei Lihuang got off the bus, and Teng Daiyuan and others were responsible for receiving and taking Wei Lihuang and his party to the gate of the cathedral. At this time, the chairman personally welcomed out of the living room and shook hands with Wei Lihuang and others to welcome them. After a period of greeting, Wei Lihuang sincerely praised, "Your army has done a good job in the War of Resistance!" I am deeply honored to have the opportunity to listen to Mr. Mao's political views. ”
The chairman said with a smile: "General Wei is the first theater commander to resolutely support the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communists on the issue of the War of Resistance, and it is our common goal to defend the motherland's great rivers and mountains from foreign aggression, and cooperation is imperative!" "The conversation between the two sides went exceptionally well in a friendly, cheerful atmosphere. At noon, at the best restaurant in Yan'an, the chairman set up a banquet to entertain Wei Lihuang, and did his best to find all the good dishes that could be served, which made Wei Lihuang, who was trapped in Shanxi a while ago and lacking materials, very moved and thanked the chairman one after another. After the meal, Wei Lihuang visited the Anti-Japanese War Military and Political University and gave a speech. In the evening, accompanied by the Chairman, a grand welcome party was watched.
The next day, Wei Lihuang and his party left Yan'an. Teng Daiyuan and others were entrusted by the chairman to send them off, and they were separated by each other thirty miles away. On the way back, Wei Lihuang spoke highly of the trip to Yan'an, believing that the Eighth Route Army had made great achievements in the War of Resistance, and in view of the problem that the Eighth Route Army was facing a shortage of ammunition and other military supplies, the day after arriving in Xi'an, Wei Lihuang personally arranged for his subordinates to distribute one million rounds of rifle bullets and two hundred thousand grenades to the Eighteenth Group Army. In the face of such a huge amount of military supplies, the old subordinate Gao Hailan looked embarrassed. Wei Lihuang immediately and solemnly criticized: "All the troops that fight the enemy are treated equally, and if the Eighteenth Army Scepter is well fought, we must fully supply them." ”
Soon, this huge batch of military materials was loaded from the logistics department warehouse near Xi'an New City and transported to the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army. In addition to guns and ammunition, there were 180 boxes of canned braised beef and soybeans, summer clothes, telephone sets, and medical supplies, and all the military materials in the reserve warehouse were basically fully rationed, and this huge military salary also had a negative impact on Wei Lihuang's arrest later. However, at that time, the supply of this batch of military supplies promptly solved the problem of the shortage of materials for our army.
To that end, we have not forgotten, nor has the President. After the founding of New China, in 1955, Wei Lihuang returned to Guangzhou from Hong Kong, and the chairman personally sent a congratulatory message: "Sir returned to China, very welcome, looking forward to coming to Beijing at an early date. Subsequently, Wei Lihuang held a number of important government positions, and later served as vice chairman of the National Defense Commission. In 1960, Wei Lihuang died of illness, and the chairman wrote in his eulogy: "In the early days of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Comrade Wei Lihuang made meritorious contributions to the War of Resistance, and his patriotic actions at that time were commendable. "He gave a high evaluation to Wei Lihuang's life.