preface
On March 11, 1991, General Lu Zhengcao received treatment at Beijing 301 Hospital. Before he was about to undergo surgery, he suddenly received news from Taiwan that Zhang Xueliang, who had been imprisoned by Chiang Kai-shek for more than half a century, had regained his freedom and was going to visit his relatives in the United States.
Zhang Xueliang in his later years
After Lu Zhengcao on the hospital bed heard the news, he said with great excitement:
"I'm going to the United States too."
Why would Lu Zhengcao disregard his own body and want to value Zhang Xueliang, who was freed, and what kind of story happened between the two people?
Joined the Northeast Army and became acquainted with Zhang Xueliang
Lü Zhengcao was the founding general of New China and made great contributions to China's revolutionary cause. He was born in An ordinary peasant family in Liaoning Province, and his doorstep was the South Manchuria Railway occupied by the Japanese, and the local fathers and villagers were often bullied by the Japanese for no reason.
Around the sides of the railway, Lu Zhengcao often saw red sun flags, vicious railway patrols and wolf dogs spitting out long tongues, and the local villagers did not dare to rush closer, otherwise they would be beaten by the Japanese.
One day, he saw a teacher passing through the pedestrian passage of the South Manchuria Railway and was slashed by the Japanese with a large knife. Lü Zhengcao was furious, and he made up his mind that when he grew up, he would become a soldier and drive the Japanese out of his homeland.
The Japanese-controlled South Manchuria Railway
With the support of his parents, Lu Zhengcao, who was poor, insisted on his studies intermittently until something happened in his family later, and Lu Zhengcao had to enter the screw factory as an apprentice. During this time at work, he always uses his spare time to study and never gives up.
In the spring of 1922, 17-year-old Lü Zhengcao heard from his neighbors that Zhang Xueliang, the son of Zhang Dashuai, the "King of the Northeast," had received advanced education in the West, and that his guard brigades were all new-style troops, full of young people full of patriotic fighting spirit.
Lu Zhengcao was very excited after hearing this, and he had been looking forward to the day when he could join the army and go to the battlefield and drive the Japanese out of his homeland. So he joined the Northeast Army at the recommendation of others and became an ordinary soldier under Zhang Xueliang.
Soon, Lü Zhengcao's guard brigade recruited documents, because most of the soldiers in the army were children of poor families, had no education, and only Lu Zhengcao, who had a primary school level, was selected by the examiner, and from then on he and Zhang Xueliang began to have contact.
Lu Zhengcao during the revolutionary period
One day, Zhang Xueliang came to the military camp to inspect the training work of the soldiers, and when he was flipping through the documents, he found the answer sheet written by Lü Zhengcao, with neat handwriting and rigorous thinking, so he called Lü Zhengcao to him.
After Zhang Xueliang inquired, he learned that Lü Zhengcao had attended primary school, so Zhang Xueliang named Lü Zhengcao as a clerk for the brigade headquarters.
In the winter of 1923, at the recommendation of Zhang Xueliang, Lü Zhengcao came to the Northeast Daowutang to study, which was the highest school in the northeast at that time, and Zhang Zuolin sent him to the Tangwutang to strictly discipline him in order to cultivate Zhang Xueliang, and Zhang Xueliang did not live up to Zhang Zuolin's expectations and always strictly observed discipline. Zhang Xueliang recommended Lü Zhengcao to study in wutang, which shows Zhang Xueliang's importance to Lü Zhengcao.
From the fourth period, Zhang Xueliang served as the principal of the Lecture Hall, and since then the two have another layer of teacher-student fate, Zhang Xueliang has a high morale, and the purpose of his founding of the Lecture Hall is to cultivate talents and serve the motherland.
Once the Tohoku Lecture Hall
After Lü Zhengcao graduated from the DaowuTang, he was deeply disappointed by the factional struggle within the Fengzhi warlords, and he directly left the new barracks where he was located and returned home.
In October 1925, Zhang Xueliang deliberately found Lu Zhengcao and arranged for him to be the deputy to the major. Because of his excellent performance, he successively served as secretary, chief of staff, and head of the regiment.
On September 18, 1931, the Japanese launched a brazen attack on the northeast region of China. In order to preserve his own strength, Zhang Xueliang retreated to Guannei, which also became the biggest shame of his and the Northeast Army in this life.
Lü Zhengcao, who was the chief of staff of the 16th Brigade of the 116th Division of the Northeast Army, was forced to transfer to the defense of Beiping City and followed the Northeast Army to retreat back to Guannei.
The Japanese army launched the September 18 Incident
After the September 18 Incident, the Japanese army accelerated the pace of aggression against China, and Shenyang, Rehe, and Beiping were all invaded and occupied by the Japanese army, and this scene deeply touched Zhang Xueliang's heart.
Zhang Xueliang's body carries the hatred of the country and the family, and always endures the insults of the countrymen. While carrying the insult, he secretly supported the anti-Japanese armed forces in the northeast and gave a lot of material assistance to Ma Zhanshan, Li Du and other famous anti-Japanese generals.
At the end of 1932, with the support of Zhang Xueliang, the 16th Brigade went to Rehe to carry out anti-Japanese activities. After the fall of Rehe, Zhang Xueliang ordered Lü Zhengcao to rush back to Beiping overnight and inquire about the details of his Japanese army.
Lü Zhengcao said passionately: "Our troops have been stationed at various important passes of the Great Wall, and the important pass Xifeng Pass was occupied by the Japanese army and then taken back by our side, and now the soldiers are enthusiastic about killing the enemy, and they can completely take rehe back from the hands of the enemy." ”
General Zhang Xueliang
After Zhang Xueliang listened, he clenched his fists in his hands, and he issued an order that Rehe must be taken back, and at the same time appointed Lü Zhengcao as the commander of the 647 regiment, asking him to immediately return to the front line to fight a decisive battle with the Japanese army. Zhang Xueliang raised his fist and said loudly:
"Even if I have exhausted the laodice of the Northeast Army, I must also fight the Japanese to the end."
However, before Lü Zhengcao could return to the front, Zhang Xueliang was forced by Chiang Kai-shek to come to Europe and the United States for investigation. He Yingqin temporarily succeeded Zhang Xueliang and signed the infamous Tanggu Agreement with the Japanese army, and two years later, the Kuomintang signed the He Mei Agreement with the Japanese army, and the signing of these two agreements marked the fall of China's northern Region.
Zhang Xueliang: He went the right way
After Zhang Xueliang left the field, the Northeast Army has always insisted on finding a way to resist Japan and save the country, and Lü Zhengcao saw the Chinese Communist Party's idea of jointly resisting Japan, and for this reason, he was eager to join the Communist Party of China.
Chiang Kai-shek wanted to destroy the strength of the Red Army through the Northeast Army, but the generals of the Northeast Army thought about how to fight back to the northeast and reclaim their homeland. Chiang Kai-shek could not command the Northeast Army, and could only let Zhang Xueliang encircle and suppress the "Red Army."
Northeast Army under the leadership of Zhang Xueliang
In the battle against the Red Army, Zhang Xueliang's troops became less and less, and the soldiers petitioned Zhang Xueliang to return to his hometown in the northeast. Zhang Xueliang made a promise to the generals that one day he would lead everyone back to the northeast, at which time the mood of the northeast army began to stabilize.
In October 1935, Chiang Kai-shek transferred Zhang Xueliang to Xi'an as deputy commander-in-chief of the Northwest Bandit Army. Zhang Xueliang did not want to be an enemy of the Chinese Communists, and he began to send people to secretly contact the Red Army, and reached an armistice agreement.
In October 1936, Zhang Xueliang transferred Lü Zhengcao to Zhang Mansion to take charge of the security work. Because of this, Lu Zhengcao was able to witness the whole process of the Xi'an Incident here.
On October 22, Chiang Kai-shek came to Xi'an to urge Zhang Xueliang to "encircle and suppress" the Red Army, and Zhang Xueliang was very reluctant, and he once again advised Chiang Kai-shek in the hope of stopping the civil war, but was reprimanded by Chiang Kai-shek. In desperation, Zhang Xueliang launched a mutiny, detained Chiang Kai-shek and others, and put forward many proposals such as stopping the anti-Japanese resistance.
Demonstrations after the outbreak of the Xi'an Incident
At the invitation of generals Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng, the CPC Central Committee decided to send a delegation headed by Zhou Enlai to Xi'an to promote a peaceful settlement of the incident. Zhang Xueliang specially arranged for Lü Zhengcao to be responsible for the safety and security of Zhou Enlai and others, which shows the importance that Zhang Xueliang attaches to Lü Zhengcao.
Lü Zhengcao gradually came into contact with Zhou Enlai and others, and he had a completely new understanding of communist ideology and the anti-Japanese proposition put forward by the Communist Party of China, and the idea of joining the Communist Party of China arose in his heart.
After consultations between Zhou Enlai and Chiang Kai-shek and others, Zhou Enlai and others finally promoted a peaceful settlement of the incident.
On November 25, 1936, Zhang Xueliang, dressed in military uniform, came to the residence of Lü Zhengcao's aide-de-camp and guards, and he announced his decision to accompany Chiang Kai-shek back to Nanjing.
Zhang Xueliang and Chiang Kai-shek
Lü Zhengcao thought that Zhang Xueliang would definitely be detained by Chiang Kai-shek when he went, so he said: "Young Marshal, if you don't come back within three days, I will go back to the army." Lü Zhengcao meant that if the Northeast Army was there, even if Chiang Kai-shek wanted to deal with Zhang Xueliang, he would have some concerns in his heart.
Lü Zhengcao told the CPC delegation the news that Zhang Xueliang had escorted Chiang Kai-shek back to Nanjing, and when Zhou Enlai learned of this, he rushed to the airport immediately, but the plane had already taken off. Zhou Enlai looked at the distant plane, constantly shouting Zhang Xueliang's name, and sighing continuously.
Sure enough, after Zhang Xueliang followed Chiang Kai-shek back to Nanjing, he was immediately detained, and then began a life of a prisoner with no daylight. After Zhang Xueliang left, the Northeast Army was suppressed by Chiang Kai-shek and became a scattered sand, and Lü Zhengcao returned to the 647th Regiment of the Northeast Army again for the promise he made to Zhang Xueliang.
At the beginning of 1937, the Northeast Army was reorganized, and Lü Zhengcao was reorganized into the newly formed 691 Regiment and served as the regimental commander. After that, he secretly joined the Communist Party of China and led the 691st Regiment on the road of resistance against Japan.
Lü Zhengcao during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression
At that time, someone secretly relayed these news to Zhang Xueliang, who was under house arrest, and when Zhang Xueliang learned about it, he said with emotion:
"He's on the right track."
In July 1937, the Japanese army launched a full-scale war of aggression against China, and North China and other places fell one after another, and Lü Zhengcao's troops were also ordered to withdraw south. His heart was very resentful of Chiang Kai-shek's order not to resist, so he announced that he would break away from Chiang Kai-shek's army and establish the "People's Self-Defense Army" and join the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Lü Zhengcao, with the support of the masses of the people, launched a fierce battle with the Japanese Kou, and his troops also grew rapidly, growing to more than 100,000 people in just one year, and he also became a famous general who made the Japanese Kou feel frightened. After Chairman Mao learned of Lü Zhengcao's deeds, he cordially praised:
"Lu Zhengcao is a model for upholding guerrilla warfare in the plains and a model for upholding the people's armed struggle."
After the liberation war began, Lü Zhengcao actively mobilized the soldiers to transport the materials needed by the troops to the front line in a timely manner, and he played a key role in the victory of the Liaoshen Campaign.
General Yang Hucheng
During this period, Zhou Enlai and other leaders of the CPC Central Committee held peace talks with the Kuomintang many times, hoping to release Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng, but Chiang Kai-shek was always worried about the affairs of Xi'an and was unwilling to return the freedom of the two people. Until Yang Hucheng was killed by secret agents, Zhang Xueliang was also escorted to Taiwan. Due to the barrier of the strait, the wish of Lu Zhengcao and Zhang Xueliang to meet has not been realized.
Meet each other over half a century
After the founding of New China, Lü Zhengcao led the railway department, and he led the workers to build railway lines such as the Guikun Line and the Chengkun Line, making great contributions to China's railway construction. In his spare time, he has been paying attention to the news from Taiwan.
In the 1980s, with the death of Chiang Kai-shek and the relaxation of cross-strait relations, the Kuomintang's custody of Zhang Xueliang was gradually relaxed, and Lü Zhengcao and Zhang Xueliang had correspondence.
Lu Zhengcao led the workers in railway construction
Zhang Xueliang missed his friends on the mainland very much, and in June 1984, Zhang Xueliang's niece Zhang Luyu made a special trip to Beijing to visit Lu Zhengcao. She said in the conversation: "My uncle told me that he had always been worried about the two subordinates of that year, one was Lu Zhengcao and the other was Wan Yi, and he hoped that I would have the opportunity to come to visit you." ”
After Lu Zhengcao learned about it, tears of emotion flowed from his eyes, and he specially entrusted it
Zhang Lu brought Zhang Xueliang a pair of fitness balls and a few cans of fine tea leaves. After Zhang Luyu returned, he personally delivered the gift to Zhang Xueliang's hand.
In 1988, Lu Zhengcao entrusted again
torr
Zhang Luyu gave Zhang Xueliang a letter card, along with the poems that Lu Zhengcao had written for Zhang Xueliang.
In the poem, Lü Zhengcao called Zhang Xueliang "General of the Imperial Dragon", because Zhang Xueliang's wife Zhao Yidi accidentally fell and broke his leg, and Zhang Xueliang personally pushed a wheelchair for Zhao Yidi in order to take care of Zhao Yidi, so he was called "General of the Imperial Dragon".
Mr. and Mrs. Zhang Xueliang
In March 1991, with the consent of the Taiwan authorities, Mr. and Mrs. Zhang Xueliang went to the United States to visit their relatives. At this time, General Lu Zhengcao, who was receiving treatment at the Beijing 301 Hospital, learned of it and said excitedly: "I am also going to the United States." ”
Lu Zhengcao expressed to Zhang Xueliang his idea of meeting him in the United States through his friends in the United States, and zhang Xueliang did not think much about it after learning about it, and immediately agreed.
On May 23, 1991, under the attention of everyone, Lu Zhengcao flew from Beijing to New York.
Although cross-strait relations have eased, Zhang Xueliang's status is special, and in order not to cause some unnecessary trouble for Zhang Xueliang, they avoided the tracking of the news media with the help of friends and met at the home of a friend who temporarily lived in Zhang Xueliang.
Lu Zhengcao and Zhang Xueliang
On the morning of May 29, 1991, two elderly people who had been separated for half a century finally met at the apartment of their American friend Mrs. Bay. On this day, Lu Zhengcao just got out of the elevator, he saw Zhang Xueliang who was waiting, Zhang Xueliang held out his hand to Lu Zhengcao from a distance, and then welcomed him into the house.
At this meeting between Lu Zhengcao and Zhang Xueliang, they had a lot of things to say, but when they met each other, the two people were relatively speechless, and they talked about the things they cared about more.
During the conversation, the two men mentioned the past of the anti-Japanese period.
Lü Zhengcao recounted his guerrilla campaign behind enemy lines, and he said to Zhang Xueliang: "When you escorted Chiang Kai-shek back to Nanjing, I knew he would not let you come back. When you left, the entire Northeast Army was in chaos, and in desperation, I came behind enemy lines to continue the struggle against the Japanese invaders. ”
From left to right: Zhang Luyu, Zhang Xueliang, Lu Zhengcao
Zhang Xueliang listened very seriously to Lü Zhengcao's guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines, and he said with shame: "The most regrettable thing for me is that I was not able to participate in the anti-Japanese resistance, and you led the troops to resolutely attack Japan, which is also a kind of comfort for me." ”
Lu Zhengcao said with relief:
"You did the Xi'an incident right, and we completed your mission for you, and in general, you have made great contributions to the country."
After listening, Zhang Xueliang said happily: "You have taken the right path." ”
At the end of the conversation, Zhang Xueliang mentioned the issue of cross-strait reunification that he was most concerned about, and Lu Zhengcao briefed Zhang Xueliang in detail on the policies proposed by the mainland side. Zhang Xueliang said after listening:
"I think it's only a matter of time before the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are reunified."
The two men met in New York three times, and Zhang Xueliang repeatedly expressed his desire to return to the mainland in the conversation, while Lu Zhengcao agreed with Zhang Xueliang's desire to return to the motherland.
However, due to various reasons, Zhang Xueliang and his wife settled in Honolulu for a long time, and finally failed to realize their wish to return to the mainland of their motherland.
In 2001, Zhang Xueliang died, and After Lü Zhengcao learned of it, Zhang Xueliang was highly evaluated
General Zhang Xueliang is worthy of the great title of the people of the motherland as a hero and a national hero throughout the ages. ”
General Lü Zhengcao's memorial service
In 2009, General Lü Zhengcao passed away, and he was also the last founding general of New China to die.
Now that the Slovaks are gone, the centuries-long friendship between them has been forever celebrated by the world.