I believe that many people who pay attention to the film, television and literary works related to the anti-Japanese resistance have more or less heard of the big name of "Two-Gun Old Lady", and such a character has been created in the famous old TV series "Two-Gun Old Lady", the novel "Red Rock", and the movie "Eternal Life in the Fire".
In these works, the old woman with two guns has left a deep impression on people with her patriotic, heroic and good use of two guns. Many people may think that this is just a character deliberately invented in the work for the sake of story effect, but in fact, the two-gun old woman has an archetype, and there is more than one.
The author of "Red Rock" once said that the two-gun old lady in his text is actually based on Deng Huizhong, Liu Longhua, and Chen Lianshi.
The next one I want to talk about is the prototype of the two-gun old woman in the movie "Dawn Gunshot" and "Top Secret Action" - Hong Wenguo.
Witnessed several wars and hated the aggressors
Among the several "two-gun old women" that really existed in history, Hong Wenguo can be said to be the one with the most authentic image, the most widely circulated story, and the greatest personal influence.
Hong Wenguo's husband's surname is Zhao, so she is also called Zhao Hongwenguo, and it is worth mentioning that her son Zhao Tong was also a famous anti-Japanese general.
Hong Wenguo was born in Liaoning, was a Manchu, and when he was a child, he also had no worries about food and clothing, but later at the age of fourteen, he personally experienced the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War, the false and powerful appearance of the Qing Dynasty was torn apart, and countless compatriots were displaced by the war; at the age of nineteen, he experienced the invasion of China by the Eight-Power Alliance, witnessing how foreign invaders wantonly competed for the rights and interests belonging to China and trampled on China's dignity; at the age of thirty-one, the Qing Dynasty collapsed, and the country presented a chaotic situation.
In the years that followed, China continued to be in constant strife between the outside and the inside. All this made Hong Wenguo's hatred for foreign invaders more and more intense, and he constantly threw himself into the work of driving out the enemy and saving the country.
At the age of twenty-nine, Hong Wenguo opened a school with his own family foundation, trying to improve the children's knowledge level through education, hoping that the next generation of Chinese people would cultivate more reserves for the motherland. However, more than twenty years later, the September 18 Incident broke out, and Japan invaded the three eastern provinces again.
Looking at the Japanese invaders who invaded arrogantly again, the hatred that had penetrated deep into the bone marrow of the past once again surged into Hong Wenguo's heart, and she decided to personally grab her weapons to resist foreign enemies when she was more than half a hundred years old.
He sold his property to devote himself to the cause of anti-Japanese resistance, and became more and more courageous when he encountered setbacks
In 1932, Hong Wenguo's son Zhao Tong returned to his hometown to organize the Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army, and Hong Wenguo fully supported it, selling the family property he had accumulated for most of his life as anti-Japanese military expenses and recruiting patriots who also cherished the country.
At the same time, she also insisted on her own educational cause, resisted Japanese enslavement and brainwashing, instilled patriotic ideas in young people, and later established a "young iron-blooded army" with her son and students, and was responsible for intelligence gathering and weapons supply in the army. Soon, the "Young Predator Army" grew to the size of hundreds of people, but it also attracted the attention of the Japanese army.
In February 1934, the central part of the "Young Predator Army" was discovered by the Japanese army, and the sixteen houses of the Hongwen state were burned down, and half of the family property was destroyed. After suffering such setbacks, Hong Wenguo not only did not stop resisting Japan, but became more enthusiastic, and then went to buy a printing press and organized his comrades to distribute anti-Japanese propaganda leaflets, which greatly increased the anti-Japanese morale of the people.
The Japanese army was very panicked when they heard about it, and in August of the same year, they raided the Predator Army again and successfully captured Hong Wenguo's family. Under the severe torture of the Japanese army, Hong Wenguo vowed to die, and the Japanese army was helpless and prepared to execute Hong Wenguo, but fortunately, Hong Wenguo successfully escaped the clutches of the Japanese army with the cooperation of the Predator Army before the execution.
After encountering two setbacks, Hong Wenguo became more and more frustrated and courageous, without the slightest retreat, she devoted all her energy to the anti-Japanese salvation, and the Predator Army continued to grow under her leadership and achieved outstanding battle achievements.
In the process of strengthening the Predator Army, Hong Wenguo also suffered many setbacks, but fortunately, after the Predator Army had a certain scale, it attracted the attention and help of Celebrities such as Du Yuesheng, Zhang Xueliang, and even Chiang Kai-shek, and its anti-Japanese cause was able to proceed smoothly.
Later, Hong Wenguo and his son Zhao Dong continued to run for the cause of anti-Japanese resistance, and were warmly welcomed by leaders, celebrities and the people everywhere, Hong Wenguo was known as the "old lady with two guns" because of his good use of double guns, and his son Zhao Dong was also appointed by the Nationalist government as commander-in-chief and major general.
However, during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Hong Wenguo's sons and husbands died one after another, so after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Hong Wenguo decided to disarm and return to the field, resigned many of his positions, and returned to the northeast with the families of many martyrs of the anti-Japanese army.
Instigated to carry out counter-revolution, he was later captured alive and shot
After returning to the northeast, Hong Wenguo originally wanted to solve the problems of the martyrs' families by doing business and setting up factories, but she did not expect that the War of Resistance had just ended, the civil war had begun again, and her hopes for a stable life were also shattered.
During the Liberation War, Hong Wenguo was entrusted by Chiang Kai-shek to form the Second Guerrilla Appeasement Column of the Jireliao Border Region to garrison Chongqing, and his son Zhao Lianzhong served as the commander-in-chief.
At the instigation of Chiang Kai-shek, Hong Wenguo and others killed PLA negotiators, plotted anti-grain requisition operations, occupied many county towns, resisted the Jinchuan Plaça, and seriously hindered the process of national liberation.
In February 1950, Hong Wenguo was finally arrested by the People's Liberation Army, and Zhou Enlai interceded for him, but in the end Hong Wenguo was executed for refusing to surrender.
The reputation is mixed, and the positive and negative are difficult to evaluate
Throughout Hong Wenguo's life, starting from the formation of a young iron-blooded army of several hundred people, he repeatedly fought many setbacks, and then led an army of 10,000 people, respected and supported by his compatriots, and finally because he was seduced, he embarked on the road of no return in his twilight years, and his reputation was destroyed.
She fought with all her might to resist Japan and save the dead, constantly fighting for the War of Resistance, her husband and son were killed in the war, the Zhao family sacrificed more than thirty people, and in order to win, she also lost all her belongings.
But later, she was instigated by the Kuomintang to embark on the road of counter-revolution, countless PLA soldiers died because of her, the PLA suffered serious losses because of her, and the road to liberation was also blocked because of her. Hong Wenguo's outstanding contribution to the war is beyond doubt, but she also brought irreparable harm to the revolution in her later period, which is a mixed reputation.
We must not forget the sacrifices and dedications she made for the country and the people, but we cannot let go of her harm to the revolution and to the nation. It is difficult to determine whether Hong Wenguo belongs to the decent or the villain, after all, it is difficult for a person to walk the right path all his life, but it is certain that her early deeds deserve our respect and learning, and her later behavior also needs our warning.