On 21 August 1993, a special hearing was held in the High Court of Taiwan Province of China. Outside the courthouse, thousands of people were chanting "Protest! ”
Inside the courthouse, a 97-year-old man, with the support of everyone, sat trembling in the defendant's seat.
The whole trial took 2 hours, but during these two hours, the old man did not say a word, and he always maintained an extremely calm expression.
At the moment when the judge was about to make a final judgment on the case, the old man suddenly stood up and cried out to the heavens with tears in his eyes:
"I once wiped out 100,000 Japanese troops on the battlefield, but now I am going to be judged by my own people, my heart aches!"
As soon as this remark came out, it immediately shocked everyone in the courtroom, and later through the media, the media throughout China were shocked.
People looked at the old man in front of them, it was already a year of expectation, but who could have imagined that he had also commanded the troops to be invincible on the battlefield. And his name has also made all the Japanese troops feel frightened, and he was even called "the tiger of Changsha" by the Japanese army.
But now that he is sued for not being able to pay the rent, and a generation of fierce generals has fallen to this point, how can he not make people feel sad?
Who is this old man? Is what he said true? Why did such a fierce general fall to the point of having no money to pay the rent in his later years? And what kind of judgment did the court finally make?
A warrior of life
At that time, the supreme commander of the Japanese army invading China, Okamura Ningji, once commented on General Xue Yue: "It is easy to shake the mountain, and it is difficult to shake the Xue family's army." The mention of Xue Yue's name will always remind people of the historical Yue Fei, and their lives have many similarities.
Xue Yue in this court, lamented that he had eliminated 100,000 Japanese troops, in fact, it is also a very conservative number, in the period of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Xue Yue's every shot, can give the Japanese army a strong blow, to the late stage of the War of Resistance Against Japan, many Japanese troops but when they hear Xue Yue's name, it will make people frightened.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Xue Yue commanded countless battles, the most classic and most gratifying of which was the Battle of Wanjialing and the Three Battles of Changsha.
In May 1938, the Japanese army occupied Xuzhou, and then drove straight in, trying to besiege Wuhan in an attempt to annihilate the main force of the Chinese Field Army, in order to be able to successfully occupy De'an, Okamura Ningji sent the 106th Division of the Japanese 11th Army, but when this unit entered the Wanjialing area, it had an encounter with the 187th Division of the 64th Army commanded by Xue Yue.
At that time, on the battlefield, under the command of Xue Yue, the mainland army took a pocket array, locked these tens of thousands of Japanese troops firmly in the encirclement, and spent 12 days to surround and annihilate all the 106 divisions of the Japanese army, 12,000 troops, nearly 10,000 people were killed, more than 300 people were captured, and finally only more than a thousand people fled in a hurry.
After this battle, the entire Wanjialing area was almost a no-man's land, all the houses and trees were destroyed by shells, and the battlefield was full of Japanese corpses and weapons and equipment scattered on the ground when they fled.
The Battle of Wanjialing set a precedent for the mainland army to annihilate the reorganized divisions of the Japanese army on the battlefield. Since then, Xue Yue has also begun to have a small reputation in the army. In the next three battles of Changsha, Xue Yue's name resounded throughout the battlefield.
In September 1939, in order to attack the Chinese troops and to be able to quickly occupy Changsha, Okamura Ninji mobilized 100,000 Japanese troops and attacked Changsha in three ways, and the person who guarded Changsha at this time was Xue Yue.
In the face of hundreds of Japanese fighters, more than three hundred ships, and more than 100,000 troops, Xue Yue at this time not only did not have the slightest fear, but also created a method of warfare that can be recorded in the annals of history - the Heavenly Furnace Method of Warfare at the moment of a thousand guns.
On the only way for the Japanese to attack, Xue Yue deployed the left, center, and right three-way surprise troops in advance, and prepared an ambush, as long as the enemy entered the ambush circle, the three-way troops fired at the same time, but whenever the Japanese army attacked any of the troops, the other two troops could carry out a combined attack.
In the first battle of Changsha, Xue Yue relied on his Heavenly Furnace Tactics to command the troops to fight fiercely with the Japanese army for a full 20 days, not only successfully hit the morale of the enemy, but also annihilated more than 40,000 Japanese troops.
In September 1941, Okamura Ningji, who refused to die, launched another attack on Changsha, and he learned the lesson of the first defeat, and the second attack of the Japanese army gathered 150,000 troops, but the increase in troop strength did not change the outcome of the matter. Xue Yue once again led his army to severely damage the Japanese troops.
Three months later, the Japanese decided to launch a general offensive on Changsha, whether it was fighters, ships or troops, far more than the previous two, after nearly six months of war, Xue Yue led the army to annihilate more than 50,000 enemy troops, so that the Japanese army with heavy losses was forced to retreat.
In these three battles of Changsha, in the face of the advanced equipment and huge troops of the Japanese army, Xue Yue not only did not retreat in the slightest, but instead made a head-on attack on the Japanese army, annihilating 110,000 enemy troops in just two years. Since then, the Japanese army has not dared to invade Changsha for several years, and Xue Yue's name has made the Japanese army feel frightened and known as the "Tiger of Changsha".
In addition to these two classic battles, on the battlefield of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Xue Yue also participated in many large-scale battles such as the Battle of Songhu, the Battle of Wuhan, the Battle of Xuzhou, and the Battle of Nanchang.
After all, you can't get trust!
However, such a famous anti-Japanese general with great military achievements has never been able to gain Chiang Kai-shek's trust, and he was even almost killed by Chiang Kai-shek, and the enmity and resentment of these two people must also start from before the War of Resistance Against Japan.
The reason why Chiang Kai-shek did not like Xue Yue was mainly related to a series of events:
As early as 1927, Zhou Enlai led an armed uprising of workers in Shanghai, but Xue Yue at that time turned a blind eye to Bai Chongxi's orders and resolutely protected the uprising in all aspects.
After the northeast was changed in 1928, Chiang Kai-shek, although nominally unified China, achieved orthodox status. But he did not unify the Kuomintang, but the scope of his actual control was very small, and there was a situation of warlords within the Kuomintang in China, which was no different from the situation before the Northern Expedition.
After Zhang Fakui and Li Zongren joined forces against Chiang Kai-shek, Xue Yue was still only a subordinate of Zhang and Li at that time, and was still only a small role that was not well known, and his suggestions were repeatedly not adopted, resulting in the siege of the Army in Hengyang, and under heavy casualties, Li Zongren and Zhang Fakui cooperated with Chiang Kai-shek.
Xue Yue studied military affairs from an early age and threw himself into the revolution from an early age, but from the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains War, Xue Yue was repeatedly suppressed, and the ambition in his chest could not be exercised, and he also became disheartened when he saw the situation within the Kuomintang.
As Chiang Kai-shek's rule grew deeper and deeper, Xue Yue believed that only by devoting himself to Chiang Kai-shek's command could he truly serve the country.
However, due to the previous events, Chiang Kai-shek still had a grudge against Xue Yue, did not assign him a position, and targeted him everywhere. It was not until 1933 that Chiang Kai-shek appointed him commander of the Fifth Army and sent him to Jiangxi to "encircle and suppress" the Red Army.
Under the command of Xue Yue, the Red Army carried out the Long March, and after the Long March, Xue Yue personally led the eight divisions of the Kuomintang in pursuit, posing a great threat to the Red Army, while chairman Mao Zedong's small leadership repeatedly successfully carried out strategic transfers under such circumstances.
At that time, the Red Army had traveled twenty-five thousand miles, Xue Yue had pursued twenty thousand miles, and Mao Zedong once said humorously: "There is Brother Laubering who is far away." Xue Yue's army was even called the "Long March Rear Guard", which also allowed Chiang Kai-shek's gas to make Xue Yue find out the guilt, and Xue Yue's battle was also regarded as a great shame for the Nationalist army.
When the War of Resistance Against Japan broke out, in order to resist the invaders, the various warlords and the Communist Party cooperated again, and Xue Yue once again returned to the Kuomintang troops led by Chiang Kai-shek.
In the face of the Japanese army, Xue Yue never was soft,and the victories were fought one after another, allowing Chiang Kai-shek to thoroughly see Xue Yue's command ability.
After the outbreak of the Liberation War, Xue Yue was sent to the battlefield by Chiang Kai-shek to confront the Zhongye Army led by Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping, and in less than a year, the Nationalist 26th Division under the command of Xue Yue was completely annihilated by the People's Liberation Army.
Xue Yue's incomparable courage on the anti-Japanese battlefield was ultimately unable to defeat the people's army, and for a time, Chiang Kai-shek was greatly annoyed and sent Chen Cheng to empty Xue Yue's military power, and later simply removed Xue Yue from his post.
However, Chiang Kai-shek also appointed Xue Yue as the "Commander-in-Chief of the Defense of Hainan Province" in order to avoid falling into the truth, but in fact he did not give a single soldier, and this veritable commander of the light pole could only recruit troops in the local area. Judging from the campaign to liberate Hainan Island, the results can be imagined.
It was precisely because of Xue Yue's series of words and deeds that although he had made great military achievements on the anti-Japanese battlefield, he was never able to gain Chiang Kai-shek's trust, but after retreating to Taiwan, Chiang Kai-shek still maintained his courteous attitude toward Xue Yue.
Tragic old age
After retreating to Taiwan, Chiang Kai-shek's suspicion of Xue Yue still did not disappear, and the once grand first-class general could only stay at home after arriving in Taiwan, and he could only accompany him with flowers and plants without a single soldier in his hands. Xue Yue originally thought that he could live a pastoral life and enjoy his old age in peace.
In 1952, an order from Chiang Kai-shek made Xue Yue completely chill. At that time, Chiang Kai-shek was worried that Xue Yue and Li Zongren would secretly contact the Communists, and in the summer of that year, Chiang Kai-shek conducted a comprehensive search of General Xue Yue's residence and office on the grounds of "colluding with third-party forces".
Xue Yue, who was extremely dissatisfied with this matter, questioned Chiang Ching-kuo afterwards, but Chiang Ching-kuo prevaricated: "I have never given an order on this matter, so you should still ask President Chiang!" ”
When the phone rang to Chiang Kai-shek, the answer was "routine." These four words also made this matter finally impossible.
After this comprehensive search, Xue Yue thought that he would usher in eternal peace, but he did not expect that an inexplicable accusation would suddenly break out.
In early 1953, some people in the authorities reported that Xue Yue was suspected of "embezzling public funds privately" during his tenure in Guangdong, and soon another investigation followed, which completely disrupted Xue Yue's peaceful life.
In order to get rid of politics, Xue Yue voluntarily resigned from all political posts and moved to a small county town, where he read books, farmed fields, and hunted every day. It is precisely because of his foresight that he has escaped countless internal disputes within the Kuomintang.
Xue Yue, who had already planned to spend the rest of his life in this small county town, did not expect that in the end, he still could not escape his political fate.
Even if Chiang Kai-shek was extremely dissatisfied with Xue Yue, he never dared to make too unusual moves against Xue Yue, and during the years when Xue Yue lived in seclusion, he not only assigned Xue Yue a good place to live, but also issued additional financial subsidies every month, but why did Xue Yue still go to court in his later years because he had no money?
And all of this is closely related to an election.
In 1988, after Chiang Ching-kuo's death, in order to ensure the smooth progress of the election, some people had to find a person of high moral standing as a witness, and at this time, people like Gu Zhutong, Hu Lian, and Chen Cheng were all dead, and the only person who could think of at this time was Xue Yue.
At this time, Xue Yue had not asked about political affairs for many years, and since someone had come to invite him, he simply sent a favor and presided over the election conference in 1990.
But what Xue Yue did not expect in the end was that the first thing the leader did after he came to power was to revise Taiwan's laws. It is precisely because of this incident that Xue Yue has been in direct confrontation with the authorities for the next time.
The authorities were also very angry about this, canceled the monthly subsidy for Xue Yue, and took back the house sent by Chiang Kai-shek, at this time Xue Yue's basic life could not continue to be guaranteed, and his life became increasingly embarrassing, and he could only rent a house to live in, but also because he could not afford to pay the rent.
Under the instructions of the authorities, the bank repeatedly forced Xue Yue to pay rent, and after the persecution was fruitless, the Bank of Taiwan took Xue Yue to court.
After learning that Xue Yue was accused of going to court, some people of Taiwan with conscience gathered outside the door of the court and protested against the court's practices, and even many people were willing to voluntarily bear all of Xue Yue's debts, but the authorities turned a deaf ear to these voices.
In the courtroom, allowing the judges to state their false accusations one by one, Xue Yue always refused to speak, and his silence was silent, which contrasted with the previous words of justice. Because he knew very well in his heart that the reason why he had fallen to such a point was entirely because he had followed the wrong person in the first place.
Although at the time of the trial, Xue Yue issued an exclamation that "I had annihilated 100,000 Japanese troops", this sentence did not get a trace of pity from the court, and in the end, it failed to get the court's net.
After the court's trial, Xue Yue not only had to pay a high rent debt, but also had to move out of his previous residence immediately, otherwise the court would have to take coercive measures against him.
Poor General Xue Yue spent his whole life for the country, and during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he sacrificed his life and forgot to die, but in his old age, he did not even have a place to stay, and a national general who annihilated 100,000 Japanese troops without compromise could not change a place to stay, but no matter how the media reported, the authorities did not care about it.
After walking out of the courthouse, Xue Yue moved out of his original residence in full view of everyone. Fortunately, there were well-meaning people who took the initiative to provide a house for Xue Yue to live in. And Xue Yue, who commanded thousands of troops and horses at that time, could only live in this small house of less than ten square meters for the rest of his life.
Once, when his son was going to Shenzhen on a business trip, Xue Yue, who was nearly a hundred years old, took out a note, and the son took the note and looked at it, and wrote an address in a dignified manner, which was the address of their hometown in Shaoguan, Guangdong. He said to his son, "Go check it out!" ”
Later, the son really went to his hometown in Shaoguan, Guangdong, saw his family's well-protected old house, and brought back a lot of white peppers from his hometown and took them back to Xue Yue. Xue Yue ate the white pepper, trembling and saying a few words: "I don't know if there is a chance to return to my hometown!" ”
In Taiwan, Xue Yue often corresponded with relatives in his hometown and never gave up his efforts to promote the reunification of the country.
In the last two years of his life, Xue Yue made an exception to an interview for a documentary, and after the interview, Xue Yue went to his desk, wrote down four big words with trembling hands, and sent them to reporters. And these four words are: Jing loyal to the country!
Holding these four words, everyone shed tears, this centenarian, to death thought of these four words.
A famous anti-Japanese general with a great name
On May 3, 1998, in a dilapidated farmhouse in Taiwan, Xue Yue lay in a narrow hospital bed and left this world forever. At the age of 103, he became one of the longest-lived generals of the Nationalist Army who went to Taiwan.
On the occasion of his death, he used all his strength to issue his last indignation: "I would rather use slaves than talents!" ”
This once world-renowned god of war, this hero who made the Japanese army feel frightened, this contemporary "Yue Fei" of China, did not even have a decent memorial service when he died.
Logically, for these famous generals, all kinds of funeral ceremonies should be carefully arranged, in 1990, Sun Liren's funeral, the authorities spent a lot of thought, tens of thousands of people kneeling and crying, the scene is touching. According to Xue Yue's merits, the funeral should also be so solemn.
In the end, the authorities only assisted the descendants of the Xue family in handling the funeral matters, and the whole process was sloppy and rude, and there was a clear lack of respect for the deceased. At the memorial service, the specific person who carried out some of the ceremonies needs to go to please. However, the authorities did not come forward to invite or make arrangements, which was undoubtedly a problem for the Xue family. Many of Xue Yue's old subordinates were even more indignant: How could they treat famous anti-Japanese generals like this!
So cold and ruthless, so unkind, how can it not discourage people's hearts?
On the mainland, which is only a sea away from Taiwan, the people have always remembered Xue Yue's great contributions in the War of Resistance Against Japan, and his hometown of Shaoguan, as early as 1986, was not only repaired by the local government, but also became the hometown of a hero respected by people. And included in the cultural relics protection unit.
In 2005, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of China's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in a few years, a list of "Anti-Japanese Heroes' Genealogy" was published in the "News Network", and the two words "Xue Yue" were impressively listed among them. The motherland has never forgotten his exploits.
Xue Yue, who once made great contributions to national liberation and national independence, no matter which camp he belonged to, his name should be remembered by all Chinese, and his glorious deeds should be praised by more people.