The king is regarded as a rock, the concubine is treated as a reed, the reed is as tough as silk, and the rock has no transfer. - "Peacock Flying Southeast"
In 1937, the Lugou Bridge Incident broke out, and Japan began to launch a full-scale war of aggression against China. In the face of national difficulties, countless benevolent people sacrificed their precious lives to defend their homeland. Of course, during this period, not only were there many anti-Japanese heroes who sacrificed their lives for the country, but also the wives of generals who were loyal and righteous.
Today, we will tell the story of the deep love between General Chen Zhongzhu and his wife Wang Zhifang.
Chen Zhongzhu, a native of Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, lost his father at an early age, and his family only had a few acres of thin fields to live on. During the warlord melee, he was forced to make a living, and he dropped out of junior high school.
In 1925, Chen Zhongzhu took his fourth brother to Shanghai to make a living, and with the fact that he still knew a few words, he sought a job as a tram conductor. However, for him who has been determined to serve the country since he was a child, wearing a military uniform is his wish. In 1927, when the Northern Expeditionary Army entered Shanghai, Chen Zhongzhu felt that the opportunity to realize his ambitions had arrived, so he immediately resigned and returned to his hometown.
After the troops of the Northern Expedition entered Yanfu in the north, Chen Zhongzhu participated in the preparation of the Kuomintang Caobu branch and the peasant association organization. After that, he successively entered the Jiangsu Provincial Police Officers Military Academy and the Nanjing Military Officers School, and transferred to the sixth phase of the Whampoa Military Academy with excellent results.
In 1930, Chen Zhongzhu successfully graduated from the Whampoa Military Academy. However, after graduation, he did not go to the front line, but stayed in the rear, successively serving as the captain of the ganyu county police brigade, the instructor of the National Central University, the organization and investigation department of the Party Department of the Kuomintang Central Committee, and the special agent of the Jinpu Railway Beining Road.
Chen Zhongzhu and his wife Wang Zhifang met in 1931, when Chen Zhongzhu was still an instructor at National Central University. Wang Zhifang was originally a lady of the official eunuch family, and the family was well-off, but because her mother died early and her father married someone else, she was dissatisfied in her heart, plus the relationship with her stepmother was also very cold, so she ran to her aunt's house in a rage.
Perhaps, their fate is predestined. When Chen Zhongzhu was teaching in Shanghai, he happened to live temporarily at Wang Zhifang's aunt's house. Chen Zhongzhu was heroic, talented, and ambitious, and soon won Wang Zhifang's favor. Similarly, Wang Zhifang not only had a beautiful face, a gentle temperament unique to southerners, but also an independent mind that was rare for women in that era.
The so-called "lady, gentleman is good", Chen Zhongzhu to Wang Zhifang is probably like this. Perhaps it was the similar childhood encounters that brought the two young hearts closer and closer. In 1932, after a period of time together, the two people who expressed their hearts chose to marry each other together.
After the two married, they were very affectionate, and Chen Zhongzhu was also considerate to Wang Zhifang. Every time Chen Zhongzhu was transferred to any place, he would take Wang Zhifang with him, and although that time was difficult in Wang Zhifang's eyes, it was the most peaceful moment they spent together.
In 1937, the All-Out War of Resistance broke out. After the Battle of Songhu, Nanjing completely fell. Chen Zhongzhu asked Wang Zhifang to retreat to Chongqing with his two-year-old daughter and a few months-old son, but he took the initiative to stay at the front line and organize front-line students and railway workers to take up arms against foreign invasion. Later, Chen Zhongzhu was transferred to the rank of major general of the Third Regiment of the Field Special Work Regiment, under the command of Li Zongren, commander of the Fifth Theater.
In March 1938, gunfire broke out at the Battle of Taierzhuang, and Chen Zhongzhu was ordered to guard the forward position of Dadongshan. Dadong Mountain is located on the west side of Taierzhuang, which is a strategic place to defend Xuzhou, and at the same time it is also the main transportation route to aid Taierzhuang, once the Japanese army captures Dadongshan, it means that Xuzhou and Taierzhuang are also difficult to protect.
The enemy concentrated a large number of troops to attack Dadong Mountain in turn, and the battle scene was very spectacular, and Chen Zhongzhu led the third regiment that had just been formed for a long time to fight in a bloody battle, suffering heavy casualties.
At the Battle of Xuzhou, Chen Zhongzhu led his troops to participate in the battle, took the lead in the battle, fought bravely, and made battle achievements, but he was also seriously wounded in this battle and was separated from the troops. Under the cover of local farmers, Chen Zhongzhu was able to survive. After that, he secretly reunited his troops and fought behind enemy lines in the area east of Xuzhou.
Wang Zhifang, who was in Chongqing, had a hard time, on the way to Chongqing, his youngest son unfortunately contracted an illness, and there was no doctor on the road to heal, so their child, who was just a few months old, died.
What made Wang Zhifang even more desperate was that after the Battle of Xuzhou, Chen Zhongzhu was injured in a peasant family's home, and he could not get in touch with the troops at all, nor did he know where his wife and children were in Chongqing, so Wang Zhifang did not have any news of Chen Zhongzhu for three months.
Wang Zhifang tried his best to ask others to help him inquire about Chen Zhongzhu's news, but what he got was
Bad news that the husband has sacrificed
。 Hearing this news, he was like a thunderbolt on a sunny day, and he sat paralyzed on the ground.
In the following days, Wang Zhifang washed her face with tears in front of her husband's photos all day. But one night, she suddenly had a dream, dreaming that her husband Chen Zhongzhu was not dead, and she was smiling at herself. After waking up, Wang Zhifang immediately made a decision: Whether Zhongzhu is dead or alive, I must find him. He is alive, I want to see his people, he is dead, I am going to find his body and bury him with my own hands.
In this way, Wang Zhifang left the rear and began her journey of searching for a husband. She and her daughter traveled all the way to Vietnam via Hong Kong by steamer to Shanghai and then to Taizhou. After inquiring from many sources, it was learned that her husband was not dead, but because he was too badly injured, he lost contact with the troops, and now he is in Xuzhou.
In order to let her husband find her, she asked someone to bring a letter to Chen Zhongzhu, informing her of her recent situation and contact address. At that time, Chen Zhongzhu was deeply respected by Li Zongren because of his meritorious service in the Battle of Xuzhou, and was promoted to commander of the Fourth Guerrilla Column in the Lusu-Anhui Border Region. Chen Zhongzhu, who had lost contact with his wife, was also constantly worried about their safety, and repeatedly asked people to inquire, but there was no result.
At the beginning of 1939, Chen Zhongzhu finally heard the news of Wang Zhifang's mother and daughter, and learned that his wife was also looking for him everywhere, and quickly sent someone to take Wang Zhifang's mother and daughter to Xuzhou. The couple experienced a life-and-death parting and were finally reunited.
At that time, the Kuomintang guerrilla forces in the Lusu-Anhui Border Region were very chaotic, and 5 of the 10 column commanders were bandits. The composition of the troops is complex, which also causes the regular army and the wild road sub-army to obey no one, and the interests are different, so there is often infighting.
The patriotic anti-Japanese generals headed by Chen Zhongzhu supported the "united communist" tendency of Li Mingyang, commander-in-chief of the guerrilla forces in the Lusu-Anhui Border Region, while the bandit leaders headed by Han Deloitte passively resisted the war, and in order to strengthen their own strength and limit the development of the anti-Japanese forces, a small number of them were in a wait-and-see state.
Chen Zhongzhu can fight wars, understands military affairs, his troops are prepared by him, well-trained, and have extremely strong combat effectiveness, as the commander-in-chief Li Mingyang attaches great importance to Chen Zhongzhu's troops.
Of course, Chen Zhongzhu's unit also attracted the attention of Han Deqin and Li Changjiang, deputy commander-in-chief of the guerrilla forces in the Lusu-Anhui Border Region. Han Deloitte and Li Changjiang had repeatedly drawn Chen Zhongzhu to lead his subordinates into their command, but Chen Zhongzhu categorically refused, and they had to give up.
In 1940, Chen Zhongzhu followed Li Mingyang to garrison Taizhou, and he could not only attach importance to the military, but also attach importance to cultural propaganda. He encouraged patriotic young students and the masses to join the War of Resistance, and also personally gave a speech at the New Soviet Middle School to support the troupe in singing opera and publicizing the anti-Japanese resistance. During that time in Taizhou, Chen Zhongzhu's actions greatly encouraged the anti-Japanese enthusiasm of the masses and soldiers of the troops.
Chen Zhongzhu was just and honest, bent on resisting Japan, but some villains regarded him as a "nail in the eye". Because Han Deloitte failed to win chen Zhongzhu over, he began to provoke Li Changjiang to try to break down Chen Zhongzhu's forces.
In June 1940, Chen Yi led the New Fourth Army to the east to resist Japan and rested in Guocun, but the uneasy and kind Li Changjiang sent Chen Zhongzhu to attack Guocun, Chen Zhongzhu did not want to fight, but at that time Li Mingyang was not in Taizhou, and the military orders were difficult to violate, so he had to take his troops to attack Guocun.
As a result, as soon as they entered Guo Village, Chen Zhongzhu's troops lost a battalion of troops, and the conflict between Chen Zhongzhu and the New Fourth Army broke out. Fortunately, Chen Yi did not attack Taizhou for the sake of the overall situation of the War of Resistance. At this time, Li Mingyang rushed back, negotiated an armistice with Chen Yi, and finally reached a reconciliation and agreed with the outside world.
After the negotiations returned, Chen Zhongzhu also said to Wang Zhifang:
Commander Chen Yi had outstanding foresight and a great general's demeanor, which was greatly admired
。 After that, Chen Zhongzhu also ordered the adjutant to transport more than a dozen truckloads of towels, socks and other daily necessities to the New Fourth Army garrison to apologize.
After Li Changjiang's plan failed, he was afraid that he would be exposed and there would be punishment on it, so he wanted to simply defect to the Japanese. At that time, Li Changjiang gathered the commanders of the major columns together and set up machine guns around them, in order to force Chen Zhongzhu and others to surrender to the enemy with him.
Chen Zhongzhu pretended to follow the prostration and swore to follow Li Changjiang to the death, but later absconded in the middle of the night and returned home. The situation was urgent, and he simply said to Wang Zhifang:
Li Changjiang decided to join the Sun, told me to go with him, promoted me to lieutenant general division commander, and if I did not want to, he would give me a sum of money, but he would leave the troops to him. These brothers of mine have all followed me all the way to the end, how can they be captured and betrayed by the enemy? ”
In order not to harm his wife and children, he asked Wang Zhifang to take nothing with him, only to take the child out of the east of the city, and when he gathered his subordinates, he would meet her in the east of the city. However, at that time, Chen Zhongzhu's troops were all controlled by Li Changjiang, and it was impossible to escape, so Chen Zhongzhu had to flee from Taizhou City overnight with two lieutenants.
On the same day, they also escaped with the commander-in-chief Li Mingyang, ding Zuobin of the teaching brigade, and more than 100 cadets, and after the rendezvous, these hundreds of people began a guerrilla life without a fixed place. The life behind the enemy was very hard, but Wang Zhifang never complained a word.
In February 1941, the New Fourth Army led troops to attack Taizhou and attack the traitor Li Changjiang. The Lee army was defenseless, and the troops retreated with thousands of casualties. In a panic, Li Changjiang hurriedly asked the Japanese army for help, and Xiangji in the south led his troops into Taizhou City and supported Li Changjiang to establish a puppet government in Taizhou City.
The powerful Li Changjiang began to completely degenerate into a lackey of the Japanese army, going everywhere to sweep the countryside, scavenging the people's fat, mutilating compatriots, and encircling and suppressing the anti-Japanese armed forces. Li Mingyang led more than 100 people, including Chen Zhongzhu, to Taizhou, Dongtai, and Xinghua, and cooperated with the New Fourth Army to carry out joint control and jointly fight against foreign enemies.
In June of the same year, the Japanese puppet army besieged the fourth column led by Chen Zhongzhu in five routes, and Chen Zhongzhu led the fourth column to fight head-on against the enemy, the enemy's firepower was too strong, the fourth column was defeated, and the casualties were heavy. In order to avoid more casualties, Chen Zhongzhu had to retreat his troops to the area around the Xinghua Bengfei River.
Seeing that the artillery fire of the enemy's pursuit was getting closer and closer, Chen Zhongzhu immediately asked the guards to move with Wang Zhifang, who was 7 months pregnant, and his 6-year-old daughter. After the explanation, Chen Zhongzhu left the ship and went ashore. Only to see that he was dressed in a short white cloth suit, with a telescope and a short gun hanging on his chest, and roared angrily:"
Come ashore with me
！ He left Wang Zhifang's sight.
Wang Zhifang did not expect that this sight was actually a farewell
！ At that time, Wang Zhifang's side of the ship was hit by artillery fire, and they had to abandon the ship and flee to the home of a fellow villager. After the gunfire subsided, the guards went out to inquire about the news of the Fourth Column, and when they returned, they cried and told Wang Zhifang: "Commander Chen has died!" ”
Hearing this news, Wang Zhifang was like five thunderbolts, she hugged her daughter and cried bitterly, this time, she never dreamed of her husband returning safely. She knew that Chen Zhongzhu was really gone.
Later, Wang Zhifang inquired about the whereabouts of her husband's body in many ways, and learned during the search that Chen Zhongzhu was heroically sacrificed after being hit in 6 places by the enemy's sweeping bullets while leading his men to break through.
Later, when Wang Zhifang rushed to the battlefield, he saw the graves erected by the local people for her husband, which contained only her husband's body, but no husband's head. It turned out that after the Japanese army found Chen Zhongzhu's body, in order to seek merit and reward, they cut off Chen Zhongzhu's head and handed it over to the headquarters of Xiangji in the south.
Wang Zhifang, who learned of this news, was indignant, and in order to let her husband be buried, she decided to go to the Xiangji Headquarters in southern Taizhou to get her husband's head back. Chen Zhongzhu's friend advised Wang Zhifang not to take risks, but Wang Zhifang said: "Zhongzhu has bravely defended the country all his life, that is, he fought for this life, and I will also get his head back." ”
Accompanied by the guards, Wang Zhifang took her daughter to the Japanese headquarters. C heard that Chen Zhongzhu's wife came to him to ask for Chen Zhongzhu's head, and he was very shocked, so he let Wang Zhifang in.
Wang Zhifang stared dead at Xiangji in the south, and opened his mouth without humility:
I am Chen Zhongzhu's wife, and I have come to ask for my husband's head.
Nanfang Xiangji then asked the translator, "How many wives does Commander Chen have?" "Translated back to:"
Only this one original lady
。 ”
When Wang Zhifang saw the wooden box placed, he wanted to go up and hold back her husband's head, and when Xiangji in the south saw it, he wanted to stop it, and Wang Zhifang said:
Today either let me take my husband's head, or lie down on the corpse and bleed five steps! ”
Xu was frightened by Wang Zhifang's momentum, and The outstretched hand of Nanfang Xiangji shrank back and said hypocritically: "No, Madame Chen misunderstood, we still have to hold a ceremony." Immediately, he made a gesture, and the Japanese troops in the headquarters immediately lined up neatly and saluted Chen Zhongzhu's urn, and Nanfang Xiangji also pretended to go forward to put an incense stick on Chen Zhongzhu.
After the ceremony, Wang Zhifang did not want to see the ugly face of the Japanese devils anymore, and walked out of the Japanese army headquarters holding the wooden box containing her husband's head. After that, she came to a tailor's shop and begged the old tailor to help her sew Chen Zhongzhu's head and body together.
Every time the tailor sewed a stitch, her heart hurt a little, and finally the stitch was done. She stroked her husband's face and said softly, "...
Does it hurt? I hurt more than you. ”
Immediately, she left Taizhou City and buried her husband in the field of a Tang family under the Xicang Bridge outside Ximen City in Taizhou, so that she could move back to her hometown of Yancheng in the future.
Two months after Chen Zhongzhu's sacrifice, Wang Zhifang gave birth to a widowed son, named "Chen Zhi", which means to inherit his father's zhi. After this, Wang Zhifang never remarried, but raised the two daughters and a son born to Chen Zhongzhu alone.
After her husband's death, in order to drive the Japanese out of her homeland as soon as possible, she repeatedly risked the danger in Shanghai, Nanjing and other places to raise medicines, materials, etc., to support the anti-Japanese troops behind the enemy lines. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Wang Zhifang successively donated several donations to public welfare undertakings in the name of "Chen Zhongzhu".
In her later years, Wang Zhifang often went to her husband's cemetery to visit Chen Zhongzhu, and she touched Chen Zhongzhu's young face on the tombstone over and over again, and tears fell like rain.
In November 2017, the elderly Wang Zhifang passed away at the age of 101. She could finally go with her husband in peace
。
Salute to the anti-Japanese general Chen Zhongzhu salute! Also pay tribute to Wang Zhifang, the wife of the general of zhongjie yilie!
"Mourning General Chen Zhongzhu", "Anti-Japanese Heroic Martyr Chen Zhongzhu"