Yu Dafu once said: "A nation without heroes is unfortunate, and a nation that has heroes but does not know how to respect and cherish them is incorrigible." What the predecessors said is that a nation really cannot do without heroes. Founding Major General Zhang Lixiong is a hero belonging to the Chinese nation, and Rong Ma has made great achievements in battle in his lifetime. How did Zhang Lao grow from an ordinary little soldier of the Red Army to the founding major general of the republic?
Zhang Lao was born in November 1913 in Shanghang County, Longyan City, Fujian Province. Fujian has been ruled by warlords in history, and just before Zhang Lao joined the Red Army, there were many warlords on the ground in Fujian, such as Li Houji, Lu Xingbang, and Guo Fengming. Zhang Lao's family is poor, and he went to the local paper mill to work at a young age, and he tasted the bittersweet and bittersweet of the world. In 1929, Zhang Lao joined the Communist Youth League and began a magnificent revolutionary career.
In 1932, After three years of revolutionary experience, Zhang Lao officially joined the Red Army. Elder Zhang successively served as political instructor of the 100th Regiment Company of the 34th Division of the Red 12th Army, secretary of the general branch of the regiment, director of the regimental political office, and political commissar of the regiment, and participated in the fourth and fifth anti-"encirclement and suppression" operations in the Central Soviet Region, and fought extremely hard. Not only that, Elder Zhang also experienced a twenty-five thousand mile long march. The most memorable battle for Zhang Lao was that after the three main forces of the Red Army met the division, he entered Gansu with dong Zhentang of the Western Route Army to participate in the bloody battle of Gaotai, and was the only surviving Red Army soldier in the battle.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Zhang Lao successively served as the captain of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Brigade of the Kang Da, the director of the Political Office, the political commissar of the Taiyue Independent Brigade of the Kang Da General School, and the director of the Political Department of the 7th Military Sub-district of the Taihang Military Region. Entering the period of the Liberation War, Zhang Lao participated in the breakthrough of the Central Plains and performed well in the Battle of Huaihai.
In 1955, Zhang Lao was awarded the rank of colonel. In 1961, General Zhang Lao was promoted to the rank of major general and became the founding major general in the annals of history. Zhang Lao served as the political commissar of the Jiangxi Provincial Military Region, and before retiring, he served as the Fuzhou Military Region (
Note: After the 1985 Million Disarmament Campaign, the Fuzhou Military Region was merged into the Nanjing Military Region
Consultant. So, what is the current situation of Zhang Lao?
Zhang Lao, now 106 years old, lives in Nanjing, and the furnishings in his home are low-key and simple, and he has not been willing to change it for many years. Zhang Lao's spirit is good, his body is tough, and his speech is still strong and powerful, especially his memory is OK. Elder Zhang still remembers his early combat experience, and can even sing the Red Army songs of that year in an accurate tone. In addition, Zhang Lao read books and newspapers and cared about major national affairs.
It is worth mentioning that the old general's calligraphy is quite profound. From Zhang Lao's few calligraphy works, it can be seen that his words reveal the feelings of home and country between the lines, which can be described as words like his everyone is like his words. However, judging from Zhang Lao's calligraphic inscriptions, they are basically inscriptions of a public welfare nature, which shows that Zhang Lao is strict with himself and abides by principles. From the books can see the character, Zhang Lao is worthy of a generation of Confucian generals!
Resources:
[1] Zhang Lixiong veteran general: "I am the old scalper of the revolution". China Military Television Network
[2] The Iron Horse Glacier Dreams: A Visit to 10 Surviving Founding Generals. People's Liberation Army Daily
[3] Memoirs of a Veteran of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Episode 2 Zhang Lixiong: From a paper mill worker to a founding major general
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The Voice of Hubei
[4] The hundred-year-old Red Army's exhortation | Zhang Lixiong: The spirit of the Long March is a priceless treasure
China Military Network