In December 1949, after the liberation of Yibin, Song Xilian led more than 7,000 people to flee to Xichang, who knew that this news was learned by Yin Fatang, commander of the 155th Regiment of the 52nd Division of our 18th Army, so Yin Fatang immediately adopted roundabout tactics, pursued song Xilian, and fought fiercely with the Song department on the Banks of the Dadu River, and our army annihilated more than 4,000 Song troops in one hour.
Song Xilian again led the remnants to flee in the direction of Longchi, but was soon surrounded by our army again. Song Xilian, who knew that the general trend had gone, pulled out his gun and aimed it at his head to try to end it, but he was stopped by his subordinates, and the former invincible general became a prisoner of our army.
After Song Xilian and his remnants were arrested, they passed through Leshan County under the escort of our army, and many PLA soldiers stood outside the gate of the newly liberated Leshan County at that time, and reporters took pictures of them. When Song Xilian and his party walked up to the soldiers, the platoon leader in charge of escorting them asked to take a picture of him standing with the other war criminals.
When Song Xilian heard this, his face turned blue with anger. Who does not know, among these prisoners, Song Xiliande has the highest rank! Song Xilian thought to himself: Anyway, if you arrest me, it will be difficult for me to survive, and now I will take pictures of me, if my former subordinates see it in the newspaper, my dignity and prestige will not be gone! No way! I must not lose face to face!
Therefore, when the reporter raised the camera and pointed at the camera to take a picture of them, Song Xilian deliberately twisted his head to the side, which was very uncooperative, so repeated four or five times, the photo was still not taken.
Of course, after being imprisoned in the POW camp, although his life was idle, he could add a lot of trouble to the director who guarded them, including fighting with his roommates in the POW camp because of chess. In fact, there is a reason for Song Xilian's various non-cooperation after he was captured, and he once said to the general of the Nationalist army who was also captured:
"After half a lifetime of working for the Kuomintang, everything is over!"
From this sentence, we can infer that his emotions at that time were very negative, and at this time he thought that he had no possibility of surviving.
Therefore, his non-cooperation can actually be understood as the passive and helpless struggle of a general who fights on the battlefield for the future unknowable fate.
Why? This has to be said from the place where Song Xilian was held after he was captured, because before he was imprisoned in the Gongdelin War Criminals Management Center, he was locked up in the Chongqing White Mansion. The Chongqing White Mansion was once a prison of the Kuomintang, and here, after many people from our Party came in, they never went out again.
This place, Song Xilian could not be more familiar, because almost every place under the jurisdiction of the Kuomintang consisted of such a "Chongqing White Mansion", which was specially used to imprison Communists, and at the Chongqing White Mansion, he seemed to remember the thing that he regretted for the rest of his life, that is, he had been ordered to shoot the revolutionary Qu Qiubai in Changting Park, Fujian Province.
Although there were no whippings and screams here, in Song Xilian's heart, he could recall every day the various acts of cruelty to revolutionaries during the Kuomintang, his conscience was whipped at all times, and he thought that he was the least likely to be pardoned.
Since he believed that he had no hope of living, how did Song Xilian slowly change his attitude toward our army and be willing to devote himself to socialist construction? Here we have to mention one person, that is, Song Xilian's old classmate Chen Geng.
Shortly after Song Xilian's arrest, Chen Geng made a special trip to visit Song Xilian in prison. Seeing Chen Geng again surprised Song Xilian. He did not expect that he would be a defeated general and would be able to get personal visits from his old classmates. No taunts, no taunts, just one sentence:"
'Song Datou', long time no see
It had already made Song Xilian burst into tears.
Song Xilian met Chen Geng at the age of 16, when they applied to the Whampoa Military Academy with the same revolutionary ideals and became students of the first phase of the Whampoa Military Academy. Although Chen Geng and Song Xilian were good friends, their personalities were completely different. Compared with Chen Geng, who had a cheerful personality and had a life-saving grace for Chiang Kai-shek, Song Xilian was very introverted, and he was not so outstanding at the Whampoa Military Academy.
In Song Xilian's eyes, Chen Geng was like a big brother and took good care of him. Chen Geng often called him "Song Datou", and Song Xilian was not annoyed, but just smiled and smiled. While at the Whampoa Military Academy, under the influence of Chen Geng, he also joined the Communist Party of China.
Only later, Chiang Kai-shek began to target Communists at the Whampoa Military Academy, which led to the ideological loosening of many Whampoa students, including Soong Hee-lian. Therefore, after Chiang Kai-shek betrayed the Great Revolution, there are also traces of Song Xilian's side in the camp of the Right Wing of the Kuomintang.
First, Song Xilian was born in a rich peasant family, and his family has always been reluctant to let him join the army, believing that there is no way out of joining the army, which also makes Song Xilian extremely want to prove himself in front of his family; second, as mentioned earlier, Song Xilian is actually not prominent in the Whampoa Military Academy, and later in the face of dilemmas, he wrote a "letter of asking for directions" to Chiang Kai-shek, and Chiang Kai-shek was just anxious to win over right-wing talents, so he threw him an olive branch in time: a handwritten letter plus 300 pieces of ocean.
In this way, Chiang Kai-shek not only gained a "loyal subject" with a handwritten letter plus 300 pieces of ocean, but also put Song Xilian on the opposite side with the former "big brother" Chen Geng.
However, although the two stand on different positions, their friendship has not changed. After Chen Geng was arrested by Chiang Kai-shek in 1933, Song Xilian not only personally interceded regardless of his future, but also deliberately relaxed supervision so that Chen Geng could be rescued by the party organization.
In 1936, after the Outbreak of the Xi'an Incident, Chiang Kai-shek ordered Song Xilian to enter Xi'an, and the two parties cooperated again. At that time, Chen Geng happened to follow Zhou Enlai to Xi'an. Song Xilian wanted to see Zhou Enlai because of the Xi'an incident, but he was embarrassed to visit directly, so he asked Chen Geng to arrange for him.
Under the leadership of Chen Geng, Song Xilian met Zhou Enlai, which was the second time he had seen Zhou Enlai. The first time I met Zhou Enlai was 10 years ago, when Song Xilian had not yet joined the Kuomintang camp, and it was said that it was also introduced by Chen Geng. Before meeting Zhou Enlai, Song Xilian was not sure whether the teacher remembered himself, so he did not dare to rush to the door, and could only ask Chen Geng to come forward.
After the three of them met, what Song Xilian did not expect was that Zhou Enlai not only remembered himself, but also took the initiative to come forward and shake hands with himself, which made Song Xilian both moved and surprised. Just such a commander of the Nationalist Army, a division commander of the Red Army, and a principal leader of the CPC launched a unique conversation.
After taking a seat, Zhou Enlai looked at Song Xilian and then at Chen Geng and quipped:
"Well, your ranks are the same, but your style is very different." One is a millet plus rifle, and the other is an airplane cannon, one earth and one ocean. ”
Although it was a joke, judging from the conditions of the Kuomintang at that time, Song Xilian, the commander of the division, was indeed more fanciful than Chen Geng. Hearing the teacher say this, Song Xilian became even more embarrassed and said, "The students are ashamed, ashamed!" In front of Brother Chen Geng, I didn't dare to be arrogant! ”
In order to resolve the awkward atmosphere, Zhou Enlai patted Song Xilian's shoulder and said:
"You and Chen Geng have come together again, which is a good sign of symbolic significance!" Let the past pass, from now on, stand together! ”
"Stand Together"
This sentence is the voice of Song Xilian's heart. He joined the army to serve the country, but when the country was in trouble, Chiang Kai-shek was still engaged in a civil war, Song Xilian was both helpless and sad, and the peaceful settlement of the Xi'an incident made Song Xilian once again look at Zhou Enlai with admiration. Song Xilian didn't say anything, just nodded solemnly. This nod is not only a promise to a teacher, but also a promise to the people of the whole country who are trapped in the depths of the water.
Soon after, Chen Geng rushed to the anti-Japanese front in North China, and Song Xilian also threw himself into the "August 13" Songhu Bloody War. At the Battle of Songhu, this bloody boy led his 36th Division to fight fiercely with the Japanese army for 3 months, although he did not achieve the final victory, but his words "
The blood debt must be repaid with blood, and the loyal souls of the Japanese sacrifices will be killed.",
But it has inspired countless Chinese people.
In the Battle of Lanfeng, he led the 71st Army to fight fiercely with the Japanese army and besieged the 14th Division of The 2nd Ken toIhara; in the Battles of Fujinshan and Shawoyu, he led 3 divisions of troops to severely damage the Japanese army, killing 4,506 Japanese troops and wounding 17,380 enemies; during the expedition, in order to protect the Burma Road, he led the 36th Division to fight with Japanese devils, fighting bloody battles for 3 days and 3 nights...
It is worth mentioning that after the separation in Xi'an, although Song Xilian and Chen Geng rushed to different battlefields, they never stopped exchanging letters. However, after the Liberation War broke out, the two men completely broke off contact because of their different positions.
Who knows, after many years of separation, the two met again, at this time Chen Geng was the head of the People's Liberation Army, and Song Xilian had become a prisoner of war of our army. Chen Geng saw that Song Xilian was depressed, deliberately diverted the topic, and asked him:
When was the last time we met?
”
Song Xilian choked and said, "
After the Xi'an incident, you went to the garrison headquarters to find me, we drank together, and you persuaded me...
When he said these words, Song Xilian could not cry, and his long-suppressed emotions finally broke out in front of Chen Geng, the big brother.
Chen Geng sighed after hearing this, patted him on the shoulder and said, "
You, don't be too careful about some things in the past. Settle down now and think more about your future. When you go to Beijing, see how our Communist Party will govern the country after it has taken power.
After that, Chen Geng also paid out of his own pocket and invited Song Xilian to eat a meal.
After returning to the White Mansion, Song Xilian's mood obviously improved, and even Wang Lingji, who was locked in a room with him, said enviously:
How come I didn't have such a good classmate.
After this, Chen Geng also often wrote to him to encourage him to cheer up.
Slowly, Song Xilian's attitude changed significantly, and when he was in the Gongdelin War Criminals Management Center, he also actively participated in the reform and became one of the first personnel to receive amnesty.
On the day of his release from prison, Chen Geng waited to pick up Song Xilin at the gate of the Gongdelin War Criminals Management Center, and Song Xilian was so excited when he saw Chen Geng that he said: "I really did not expect that I had committed such a heinous crime against the people, and the Communist Party would be so lenient to me. ”
Chen Geng: "The two armies are in contention, each as its master. As long as they can actively admit their mistakes, our party's policies have always been to blame! Subsequently, Chen Geng also asked him what he planned next, and encouraged Song Xilian to do something for the people with him.
In 1959, on the 10th day of his pardon, he was told that Premier Zhou was going to personally receive him and other amnesty personnel, which made him very moved.
On the evening of December 19, Song Xilian and some former senior Kuomintang generals entered the reception hall, and when he was nervous and ashamed and did not know what to do, he found that Zhang Shizhao, Zhang Zhizhong, Fu Zuoyi and others were also present, all of whom were his old classmates in Huangpu. Premier Zhou said humorously:
"The vast majority of you who are doing this are Huangpu students, and Wen Bai and I (Zhang Zhizhong) are both instructors of the Whampoa Military Academy and your teachers. Students go the wrong way, and in any case, being a teacher is also responsible. ”
Premier Zhou's generosity eased the nervousness of Song Xilian and others a lot. Immediately after, Premier Zhou said:
"History is a thing of the past. No matter how big a detour you have taken, today you have finally returned to the camp of the people and come together again, and now a new history has begun, and you are welcome to join! ”
Premier Zhou's words made the scene applaud. After the applause, Premier Zhou kindly forgot about the family situation of some of the amnesty personnel, and when asked about Song Xilian, Premier Zhou smiled and said: "It looks like you are in good health, less than 50 years old!" Who is in your family? ”
When Song Xilian heard Premier Zhou's question, he was flattered and immediately stood up, and Premier Zhou motioned for him to sit down and said, he still did not sit down, and replied sincerely:
Thanks to the teacher's concern, my wife has died of illness and her children are in the United States and Hong Kong. I'm 52 years old, but I'm still very young, and I can do a lot for the people in the second half of my life. ”
In 1961, Song Xilian was appointed as a member of the Literature and History Materials Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. However, in the same year, Chen Geng died of illness. Song Xilian cried bitterly after learning about it. In one of his articles, he wrote bitterly:
"Chen Geng's death is a huge loss to the country, and for me personally, I have also lost a rare good friend in my life."
After that, Song Xilian successively served as a member of the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, running around for the peaceful reunification of the motherland. During this period, as long as he had time, he would go to Chen Geng's tomb to see the former big brother and talk to him about his heart.
In 1980, at the age of 73, Song Xilian officially retired and went to the United States with his wife to reunite with her children. In 1985, Chen Geng's widow Fu Ya went to the United States on a business trip, and before Fu Ya returned to China, Song Xilian disregarded his elderly body and insisted that his children send him to the airport and stuff some money to Fu Ya, Fu Ya refused, but Song Xilian took Fu Ya's hand and choked and said:"
I'm afraid I can't see Big Brother anymore, so I'll ask you to buy him a bouquet of flowers for me..."
In February 1993, Song Xilian spent his life accompanied by his children. After his death, his children brought his ashes back to his hometown of Changsha. On the tombstone of Song Xilian, it is engraved with the "Tomb of the Famous Anti-Japanese General Song Xilian".
Looking back on Song Xilian's life, there are merits and deeds. However, under the care of Chen Geng and Premier Zhou, we were able to actively correct and finally choose to stand with the people, and this spirit made us sure and learn! Similarly, the deep friendship between General Chen Geng and Song Xilian is really a song and a tear!