Ji Hongchang, who reads party history and learns from heroic models|: Hate not to resist Japan and die

"The wind is roaring, the horses are roaring, the Yellow River is roaring!" The Yellow River is roaring..." This widely circulated song "Defending the Yellow River", created during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, was sung in the north and south of the great river, which greatly boosted the morale of the nation, invigorated the national spirit, and became an immortal heroic movement in the history of the Chinese nation. Its composer is Xian Xinghai, who is known as the "people's musician".

"Hate not to resist Japan and die, leave it as a shame today." The country is still broken, why should I regret this? This is a righteous poem written by Ji Hongchang, a communist party member and national hero, before his execution, and the verses show the heroic and fearless revolutionary pride of the communists.

In 1895, Ji Hongchang was born into a poor family in Fugou, Henan. In 1913, Ji Hongchang went to Feng Yuxiang's army as a soldier and began his career as a horseman. He endured hardships and stood hard work, was brave and good at war, and made many military achievements, rising from soldier to commander. Although the official has become bigger and his status has become higher, Ji Hongchang's original intention of "serving as a soldier to save the country and benefit the people" has not changed. Bearing in mind his father's teaching that "if you are an official, you are not allowed to get rich", he usually saves money and uses the money he has saved to support others.

In September 1926, Feng Yuxiang swore an oath in Suiyuan Wuyuan and announced his participation in the National Revolution. Ji Hongchang immediately led his troops to march and entered Tongguan in 1927. During this period, on the one hand, he vigorously supported the Communists in carrying out political work in the army, and on the other hand, he had close contacts with the Communists Liu Bojian, Xuanxia's father, and others, and asked them for revolutionary reasons. After the defeat of the Great Revolution, he secretly protected a large number of Communists and political workers.

In September 1930, after Ji Hongchang's unit was reorganized by Chiang Kai-shek, he was ordered to "encircle and suppress" the revolutionary base area of Eyu and Anhui. Ji Hongchang was reluctant to fight a civil war and had a negative attitude toward "encircling and suppressing" the Red Army. In August 1931, Chiang Kai-shek relieved him of his military powers and forced him to go abroad for "investigation." Before leaving, coinciding with the outbreak of the "918" incident, Ji Hongchang asked Chiang Kai-shek for orders to go to the front, but was arbitrarily refused, so he traveled around Europe and the United States.

Overseas, Ji Hongchang was concerned about the safety of the motherland, and along the way he delivered anti-Japanese speeches exposing the crimes of Japanese imperialism in invading China, calling on Chinese to face Japan's aggression and not to be determined by Waquan, to fight for survival, to fight for justice, to sacrifice everything, and to resolutely resist Japan. In the face of discrimination against foreigners against Chinese, he specially made a small wooden plaque with the words "I am Chinese" and wore it on his chest to show a strong sense of national pride.

In January 1932, the Japanese army attacked Shanghai and provoked the "1.28" incident. After hearing the news, Ji Hongchang immediately returned to China, contacted and mobilized the old ministry, ran for the call to resist Japanese aggression, destroyed his family to relieve difficulties, sold more than 60,000 yuan of property to buy firearms, and organized armed resistance to Japan. In the autumn of that year, Ji Hongchang joined the Communist Party of China in Beiping.

In May 1933, under the impetus of the national anti-Japanese wave, Feng Yuxiang established the "Chahar People's Anti-Japanese Allied Army" in Zhangjiakou, with the strong help of the Communists. Ji Hongchang served as the commander of the 2nd Army and the commander-in-chief of the former enemy of the Northern Route Army, and led his troops to meet the Japanese and puppet armies, lianke Kangbao, Baochang, Guyuan and other counties, recaptured the important town of Duolun in the north, and took advantage of the victory to recover all the lost land in Chahar Province, which boosted morale and the people's hearts. These victories were not expected by Chiang Kai-shek, and the Kuomintang government adopted a policy of soft and hard sabotage against the Japanese allies, and with the Japanese army attacking the allied forces, Ji Hongchang led his troops to fight until mid-October, running out of ammunition and food and failing. After that, Ji Hongchang sneaked to Tianjin in disguise and continued his anti-Japanese activities. He secretly printed newspapers, propagated anti-Japanese ideas, actively prepared funds, secretly purchased arms, and prepared to reorganize the anti-Japanese armed forces.

Ji Hongchang's anti-Japanese activities were hated by the Kuomintang government, which wanted to get rid of him quickly. On November 9, 1934, Ji Hongchang was assassinated and injured by military agents in the French Concession of Tianjin, arrested, and later extradited to the Beiping Army Branch, where he was severely tortured by the enemy. Ji Hongchang regarded death as a homecoming and denounced the Kuomintang's policy of traitorous surrender, and he firmly said: "I can join the revolutionary ranks, I can become a member of the Communist Party, and I can fight for our party's doctrine and the liberation of mankind. On November 24, on the orders of Chiang Kai-shek, Ji Hongchang was killed in the Peiping Army Prison at the age of 39.

Author: Zhang Xiaofei

Author Affilications: Central Academy of Party History and Literature