"Comrade Zhong Chibing is a good man, and he fought in a war!"
This was a sentence conveyed by Li Mindai Mao Zedong to the relevant leaders, and then Mao Zedong even mentioned Zhong Chibing in his speech in Changsha, saying: "Zhong Chibing was knocked off one leg by the enemy and was beaten at Loushan Pass. ”
With these words, Zhong Chibing was arranged to serve as the deputy commander of the Guangzhou Military Region.
But this was not the first time that Mao Zedong "paid special attention" to Zhong Chibing, who had forged a deep friendship with him as early as the Red Army period. In the years that followed, Mao Zedong repeatedly commented that Zhong Chibing was "a good man." And this title of "good man" was completely based on Zhong Chibing's fighting.
This first battle must start from the Battle of Loushan Pass!
After crossing the Chishui River, Lao Jiang continued to mobilize more than 100,000 troops to "encircle and suppress" the Red Army. In order to get rid of the strong enemy and gain the initiative, Mao Zedong decided to cross the Chishui River twice, capture Loushan Pass, and capture Zunyi City.
However, the location of Loushan Pass was dangerous, and the Guizhou warlord Wang Jialie sent heavy troops to garrison here, including the famous "double-gun soldiers". This unit not only has extremely accurate marksmanship, but also makes good use of various guns, and its combat effectiveness is very strong.
With natural geographical advantages, coupled with such a strong defender, it was not an overnight thing to take Loushan Pass. In fact, the 13th Regiment of the Red Army, which was sent to attack Loushan Pass, failed to take several successive charges. With such a tight time, Peng Dehuai had to let the 12th Regiment reinforce.
Zhong Chibing, who received the order, immediately led the 12th regiment to Loushan Pass. That night, he took the Xia Nan Xi Pass of Lou Shan Pass with his men. When the locals reacted, they couldn't help but be greatly annoyed. The "double-gun soldiers" who were originally closed chose to counterattack, which undoubtedly gave Zhong Chibing an opportunity.
"Rush!"
With a loud drink, Zhong Chibing rushed to the front, followed by the rest of the Red Army soldiers. But in the rain of bullets, injuries were inevitable, and a bullet happened to hit his thigh.
When the guard saw this, he immediately turned around and crouched down, intending to carry him.
"Leave me alone, rush forward!"
Immediately Zhong Chibing tore open his clothes, and after simply bandaging, shouted: "Comrades, rush! ”
With that, he continued to charge forward. The political commissar was still like this, and the soldiers of the 12th Regiment did not hesitate to charge forward, showing a different kind of bravery.
Where had the "two-gunner" seen such a "fierce and fearless" warrior, he couldn't help but be frightened and quickly defeated. Lou Shanguan was captured, but Zhong Chibing was unconscious.
After Peng Dehuai learned of this news, he rushed to the location of the 12th Regiment and immediately ordered him to recuperate. As soon as he heard that he wanted to recuperate, Zhong Chibing was immediately reluctant. It is said that "the Red Army is not afraid of the difficulties of the expedition", and that the capture of Loushan Pass is only one of the dangers of all kinds of dangers, and even Zunyi City has not been captured, and he said that he is not willing to recuperate.
"Take Zunyi City, I will rest immediately!"
In front of Peng Dehuai, Zhong Chibing made a promise. In desperation, Peng Dehuai could only agree to Zhong Chibing's request. After attacking Zunyi City, Zhong Chibing was relieved to be treated.
But at this time, after the doctor saw his injury, he couldn't help but marvel, his face changed, and said: "Such a serious injury, you must amputate your leg above the calf." ”
It turned out that Zhong Chibing had been running to the front line after being injured. The wounds were in the line of fire, so that the injuries became more and more serious, and even the bones inside were broken. Missing the best time for treatment, he now faces a life-threatening situation. Amputation can still save a life; if you do not amputate, it will be life-threatening.
No hesitation, amputation!
But in zunyi city, there is a shortage of materials, a shortage of electricity and water, and there are no roads even outside the city. In such a critical situation, it is only possible to use local materials. After searching around, the doctor borrowed only a machete and a saw. After the doctor disinfected Zhong Chibing's wound with salt water, he did not use anesthesia and directly amputated his limb. The pain in his heart made Zhong Chibing's face change, and beads of sweat flowed down his face and body.
For more than three hours, he was unconscious several times. But in the process, he did not cry out a single cry of pain. When he was sober, he kept shouting: "Down with the enemy, down with the reactionaries!" ”
The doctors and nurses present were all moved. Recalling this incident afterwards, many people said with great emotion: "I have never seen such an occasion and such a tough man!" ”
Who can maintain absolute demeanor after more than three hours of drilling heartache? Even comparing it to a "realistic version of Guan Yu" is not exaggerated! But such a man, in the first moment of waking up, cried.
If nothing else, just because he didn't have a calf.
"Without my right leg, how can I lead my troops to charge?"
At that time, he had no calf, and he would never have imagined that he would have amputated twice in the back, completely losing his entire right leg. At that time, the medical environment was poor, in addition to no professional equipment, even disinfection and anti-inflammatory drugs were few. Coupled with the rain and humidity in Zunyi, Zhong Chibing's wounds were unfortunately infected.
In order to save his life, doctors had to make a recommendation to "amputate the leg again". However, the second amputation still failed to solve the problem of wound infection, and had to completely amputate Zhong Chibing's entire right leg. Three consecutive amputations, no anesthetics, completely relying on the most primitive means of treatment, Zhong Chibing carried it hard. This all makes people feel that its vitality is tenacious, and also marvel at Zhong Chibing's perseverance.
But now that he has lost his right leg, he has limited mobility, coupled with successive surgeries, and his physical condition is so poor that he is not suitable for continuing to move with the Red Army. After organizational arrangements, it was decided to leave it in the homes of local people to recuperate.
As soon as he heard that he wanted to stay, Zhong Chibing reflected to his superiors all day long, saying that he was unwilling to stay. Especially when Peng Dehuai came to visit him, Zhong Chibing said in awe: "I just have to climb, and I also want to follow the troops!" ”
The reason why he is like this is that he is really integrated with this unit. Born in a poor peasant family in Pingjiang, Hunan Province, he was exploited and oppressed by the landlords since he was a child. When the Red Army arrived at its hometown, this unit not only did not harass the local people, but also behaved very kindly.
Zhong Chibing, 16, felt that this team was different, so he also chose to join this team. As a soldier of the poor people, he enjoyed for the first time the comradely feelings of equality for all in the army.
There is no exploitation, no oppression, just mutual care and selfless dedication. Zhong Chibing had seen too many examples of sacrifices for others in the army, and for this reason he became more and more determined to stay. Not only that, but every time there was a war, Zhong Chibing always rushed to the front line. With this courage, he was promoted from a Red Army soldier to battalion commander.
But this position of "battalion commander" does not bring rights and glory, but responsibility and pay!
Now as the political commissar of the 12th Regiment, he has long put his responsibility and commitment in mind. Let him drop this team that gave everything so easily, he really can't do it.
Peng Dehuai was touched by Zhong Chibing's insistence, and immediately waved his hand and said, "Bring it, even if you use the three legions to carry it, I will also take him!" ”
After receiving Peng Dehuai's approval, Zhong Chibing couldn't help but be overjoyed. After this matter was known to Mao Zedong, he also made a special trip to see Zhong Chibing.
After approaching the hospital bed, Mao Zedong cordially took Zhong Chibing's hand: "Little devil, wounded again?" ”
The reason why Mao Zedong called Zhong Chibing a "little ghost" was because of his young age, Mao Zedong, who was already more than forty years old at the time, and Zhong Chibing was only 22 years old. And this is not the first time he has come to see Zhong Chibing, as early as a year ago, he had seen Zhong Chibing.
It was the fifth anti-"encirclement and suppression" period, and Zhong Chibing, who was in the front of the charge, unfortunately hit the thumb of his left hand by a bullet. It is often said that "ten fingers are connected to the heart", but he still endured the pain and led the team until victory. After Mao Zedong learned of this incident, he also made a special trip to visit Zhong Chibing.
When Zhong Chibing had a calm face, he said, "Although there are no fingers, hehehe, you can still fight!" ”
Fearless and heroic, as long as you can fight wars and do revolutions, this "small injury" is nothing at all. But now Zhong Chibing no longer had the original heroism, pointing to his right leg with his finger, and the whole person was about to cry.
Wounded and sacrificed are nothing to Zhong Chibing. His greatest fear was that he would be ruined and would never be able to go into battle again to kill the enemy.
Looking at Zhong Chibing, who had a look of grievance, Chairman Mao looked moved, turned to laughter, and said: "We should set up a stone monument at Loushan Pass and write 'Zhong Chibing lost his leg here.'" ”
This seems like a joke, but in fact it is a disguised affirmation of Zhong Chibing's merits. But this did not make Zhong Chibing half happy. Immediately, Mao Zedong no longer joked, but said to Peng Dehuai very seriously: "Zhong Chibing is so heroic and a hero at a young age, let him go to the central government to recuperate!" ”
The Central Recuperation Company is a relatively special company. Don't look at this as a "recuperation company", in fact, it is full of some of the heroes of the time. Old cadres such as Dong Biwu or central leaders such as Qian Zhiguang, or female cadres' families of some major leaders of the Red Army, such as He Zizhen.
Being assigned to this company is enough to see the importance that Mao Zedong attached to Zhong Chibing. But even in this company, Zhong Chibing, who was disabled, still encountered several crises, one of which was he Zizhen who sacrificed himself to save him.
On April 23, 1935, the Central Recuperation Company came to a small mountain village in Pan County for temporary recuperation. By noon, several enemy planes appeared in the sky. He Zizhen hurriedly organized the wounded to hide, and just after the group hid, she found that Zhong Chibing, who was lying on a stretcher, was still exposed.
He Zizhen also did not care about the danger, and immediately ran out of the hidden place, supported it on the stretcher, and pulled it back as far as he could. However, when the enemy plane found out, it immediately turned the nose of the plane and swooped down on the two men. A machine gun strafed and bombs were dropped. Seeing that Zhong Chibing was about to be pulled into hiding, He Zizhen could not care about the danger and did not hesitate to pounce on Zhong Chibing.
After the explosion, the soldiers hiding in the hiding place found that He Zizhen was already scarred and fell unconscious in a pool of blood. Zhong Chibing, on the other hand, was not hurt at all.
He Zizhen used his own body to block all the shrapnel that flew in for him. In other words, He Zizhen sacrificed his life to save Zhong Chibing's life! At that time, Zhong Chibing was both excited and self-condemning. Whether it was Mao Zedong's kind care or He Zizhen's sacrifice to save each other, the furniture left this tough guy with tears of emotion.
He Zizhen, who was injured, was rushed to the General Health Department. After examination, it was found that there were a total of 17 pieces of shrapnel of different sizes and shades all over her body. Like Zhong Chibing, the doctor could only use a clip to remove the shrapnel from her body surface piece by piece without anesthesia.
In the process, He Zizhen sweated heavily in pain, and did not shout. Just as Zhong Chibing amputated his limbs, the two men were as strong as thousands of Red Army soldiers.
After several days of rescue, He Zizhen finally woke up from her coma. But the first thing she did when she woke up was to inquire about Zhong Chibing's situation, and when she learned that he was safe and sound, He Zizhen said happily: "Zhong Chibing is a hero praised by the chairman, and it is my duty to save heroes!" ”
These words made the people present very moved.
Immediately afterward, He Zizhen instructed those around him not to tell Mao Zedong about his injuries, so as not to worry him. But such a big thing, no one dares to hide it. When Mao Zedong learned of this incident, he inquired about He Zizhen and Zhong Chibing successively, and also made a special trip to visit He Zizhen.
Unlike Zhong Chibing, He Zizhen was seriously injured at the time and thought of staying in the local area. But how could the Red Army team leave her behind, just as Peng Dehuai said to Zhong Chibing at the beginning, the group took turns to carry her.
As a result, the Central Recuperation Company had one more warrior lying on a stretcher.
However, whether it is Zhong Chibing or He Zizhen, both have the principle of "not bothering comrades-in-arms". In particular, Zhong Chibing, although he was missing a leg, he insisted on using a wooden stick as a crutch and walked forward step by step.
How difficult should it be to climb snow-capped mountains, cross meadows, go through hardships all the way, and walk on one leg to complete the 25,000-mile long march, and how much perseverance should it take?
Fortunately, in the difficult years, Zhong Chibing met his first wife, Wei Xiuying.
Like Zhong Chibing, Wei Xiuying had the same life and the same revolutionary ideals. When he learned the story of Zhong Chibing's "three amputations", Wei Xiuying admired him very much and volunteered to take care of Zhong Chibing.
On that arduous march, the two people met and knew each other, and finally came together because of love. When the Red Army successfully arrived in northern Shaanxi, the two men also held a simple wedding in the caves of northern Shaanxi.
After that, the Party Central Committee planned to select a group of Red Army generals who were suffering from old diseases and who had made great contributions to the Soviet Union for medical treatment and study. Mao Zedong, who had been paying close attention to Zhong Chibing's situation, added him to the election this time. Therefore, Zhong Chibing, along with Liu Yalou and other comrades, finally arrived in Moscow after more than half a year. This went for several years.
During this period, in addition to always being concerned about the domestic situation, Zhong Chibing also had to deal with the study problem well. For Zhong Chibing, who only has a primary school education, learning has become the most difficult thing at present.
And the first hurdle in front of him is the language problem!
As early as before going abroad, Zhong Chibing had already studied Russian for half a year. Normal everyday language, you can still understand some. But after all, the current contact is a professional vocabulary, and it is somewhat difficult to learn.
Fortunately, he worked hard, adhering to the principle of "stupid birds fly first", Zhong Chibing was always the first to go to the classroom and the last to leave, and in the long run, he could not only understand the teacher's lectures, but also read some Marxist-Leninist books.
During that time in the Soviet Union, Zhong Chibing made rapid progress. They are eager to learn new knowledge, and they are all looking forward to returning to the motherland as soon as possible. With the outbreak of the Soviet-German War, Zhong Chibing, Liu Yalou and others decided to get up and return to China.
This trip was not smooth sailing.
After leaving the Soviet Union, the group decided to enter China from Outer Mongolia. However, under the tight control of the Japanese army, they could only be forced to stay in Outer Mongolia. In this way, Zhong Chibing and others could only settle down temporarily.
Zhong Chibing, who was originally dedicated to serving the country, can only temporarily parasitize in a farm and be an "old farmer who watches vegetables". Although the days were clear and hard, he never lost hope in the country and firmly believed that the War of Resistance Against Japan would achieve final victory.
With the end of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Zhong Chibing, Liu Yalou and others who were originally stranded in Outer Mongolia finally entered the northeast with the Soviet army.
Although the domestic situation is uncertain at this time, for Zhong Chibing, the moment is a good opportunity for him to show his fists!
After several years of study in the Soviet Union, his thinking has long ceased to be limited to the "guerrilla and small unit operations" of the past, but has focused on large corps operations.
In particular, after the outbreak of the Liberation War, the two sides paid more attention to systematic and efficient operations, and such a large-scale industrial war paid more attention to logistical support capabilities. He was assigned to the northeast to serve as the director of the General Logistics Department, and he played a great talent.
Throughout the Liberation War, the Northeast Field Army was the absolute main force. The Northeast Liberated Areas, on the other hand, are even more responsible for supporting the rear areas of the national liberation war, transporting artillery shells, grain, and other resources to all parts of the country. Such a huge transformation and capability are inseparable from the logistics force.
Many people often ignore the role of logistics troops, but in ancient times, there was a principle that "soldiers and horses did not move, and grain and grass went first". The role of logistics in the force as a whole must not be overlooked.
As early as the time of the Red Army, the leaders had noticed this. In the period of the War of Liberation, the central authorities set even greater demands on the logistics departments. In view of the change in the mode of war, Zhong Chibing also made corresponding adjustments to the logistics units.
As mentioned earlier, most of the methods of warfare during the War of Resistance Against Japan were "guerrilla", but in the period of the War of Liberation, the operations of large corps were more efficient and rapid. To this end, Zhong Chibing proposed the establishment of two logistics commands on the eastern and western fronts, and set up a set of plans to ensure regional work.
Moreover, Zhong Chibing and relevant comrades decided to adopt the method of rear replenishment, local replenishment, battlefield captured supply, and trinity.
In order to fully meet the logistical needs of large corps operations.
"We can have as many shells as we want, and no matter how strong the enemy's fortifications are, they cannot withstand the simultaneous bombardment of our hundreds of cannons!"
This was a sentence uttered by Xiao Hua in the Pingjin Campaign, and it can be seen from this that Zhong Chibing's logistical support work was indeed in place. Mao Zedong was also very satisfied with this, so he specially named Zhong Chibing to create a new Chinese civil aviation industry!
"Only good work, not bad work!"
This was Mao Zedong's request to Zhong Chibing, and he immediately began to prepare for the task. From the selection of sites and the selection and transfer of cadres, Zhong Chibing did not panic in the slightest. Even though he was blocked by the British authorities in Hong Kong during this period, he was still at ease and soon established a civil aviation that belonged to China.
During his three years at the Civil Aviation Administration, Zhong Chibing started from scratch and completed the most important "from zero to one" step for the new China Civil Aviation. After that, civil aviation continued to develop, and it was precisely because Zhong Chibing laid a good foundation. With practical actions and achievements, he perfectly realized Mao Zedong's entrustment of "only allowing good work."
Work seriously, work hard, fight hard, and win the respect of many people. But he is respected not just because of his short fingers and broken legs.
In 1955, Zhong Chibing was awarded the rank of lieutenant general. As an old man of the Red Army and a great hero of the Liberation War, Peng Dehuai made a special trip to ask Zhong Chibing if he had any opinions.
"I didn't join the revolution to become an official, and how many better cadres than I did died on the battlefield, not even knowing their names.
In a word, it perfectly shows Zhong Chibing's generous and selfless spirit. Therefore, he is respected and respected by people because of his integrity and generous personality. Rao is Mao Zedong, and he has also commented on him many times, saying: "Zhong Chibing is a good person! ”
Especially after Li Min reported to Mao Zedong that Zhong Chibing had been treated unfairly, the chairman, who had always been gentle, immediately changed his face and said very seriously: "Zhong Chibing is a good man, and he fought in war!" ”
With Chairman Mao's voice, Zhong Chibing was able to continue his work. And his concern for Zhong Chibing did not end here. Since the time of the Red Army, he knew that the general never valued personal gains and losses, and for this reason, in a conversation in Changsha, Mao Zedong specifically mentioned Zhong Chibing.
At the meeting, Mao Zedong said: "Zhong Chibing can go to the Guangzhou Military Region. ”
The reason why he said this was only because Zhong Chibing's work at the National Defense Science and Technology Commission was not going well, so he took special care of it. With this relationship, Zhong Chibing was transferred from the Science and Technology Commission and went to the Guangzhou Military Region as a deputy commander and devoted himself to the construction and training of the military region.
Although Zhong Chibing has endured hardships and dangers, he still concentrates on national defense and army building. Unfortunately, the general who had struggled all his life died in March 1975 due to a sudden myocardial infarction at the age of 61.
But what many people did not expect was that in the second year of Zhong Chibing's death, the General Political Department approved Zhong Chibing as a revolutionary martyr. He died of illness but was criticized as a revolutionary martyr, which is rare in the history of New China.
But for Zhong Chibing, this is definitely the best consolation. Since joining the Red Army, he has always been on the front line. Later, due to injury, he had to retreat to the rear. For him, retiring from the front line is a great regret in life. If possible, he hoped that the battlefield would be his final destination.
The approval of him as a "revolutionary martyr" by the General Political Department made up for the regret in his heart.