He was the first general to be martyred against Japan, but after his death, the Japanese carried a coffin to salute him
In 1944, the Battle of Yuzhong broke out, and hundreds of thousands of troops of Jiang Dingwen and Tang Enbo lost most of the land in Henan.
It was a crushing defeat for the Nationalist forces in a confrontation with the Japanese a year before Japan surrendered.
Mr. Dong Biwu looked at the current situation and sighed:
"The boy died in the anti-Japanese battlefield, and the name of Qingshi was surnamed Xiang. If zhongyuan had the protection of the heroic spirit, how could it make the slaves go crazy. ”
In this way, he commemorated the anti-Japanese general Zhang Zizhong.
Zhang Zizhong, Zi Xingchen, taking the "
The Book of Verses. Daya means "loyal minister" in "King's Son, No Nian Erzu"
。
Zhang Zizhong was born into a family of officials in Shandong, and his father Zhang Shugui died of illness in office. In 1905, the 14-year-old Zhang Zizhong moved back to his hometown of Linqing with his mother and family.
In 1916, through the introduction of Che Zhen, the old regimental commander of the same township, Zhang Zizhong was recommended to Feng Yuxiang's army. The "older" recruit quickly found his area of expertise in the army and played his talents.
Soon, he was promoted from probationary officer to platoon leader and served under the famous "defective general" Shi Yousan Company.
Zhang Zizhong is known for his strict management of the army and is a well-known "Zhang Pickpocket" in the military.
It is said that one winter, it snowed heavily outside for several days in a row. Zhang Zizhong still led the army out for training in the cold.
He asked, "What if the enemy comes to attack on a snowy day?" ”
The generals replied, "Resolutely resist!" ”
Zhang Zizhong said, "Then now because of the next snow, you are not willing to practice, what else are you talking about fighting?" ”
Yan Bi took the lead in taking off his cotton clothes and running in the snow.
The soldiers behind them were also deeply encouraged, and they followed Zhang Zizhong's example of taking off their warm clothes and stepping up training in the cold weather.
Of course, Zhang Zizhong's army did not rely solely on force and coercion, and he was still a good general in the battalion who was connected with the hearts of the soldiers.
Once, a soldier suffered from severe sepsis, and the Concord Hospital asked General Feng Yuxiang at the time to send a company of soldiers to supply blood transfusions.
Zhang Zizhong happened to have something to pass by here, and when he heard the doctor's request, he did not hesitate to roll up his sleeve and expose his arm to actively donate blood.
In the end, with their joint efforts, the soldier's life was saved.
Afterwards, General Feng Yuxiang recalled:
This incident made everyone feel that the commander and the soldiers were not only happy and bitter. And it is the same as life. The feelings between each other became more and more different. ”
Feng Yuxiang
In addition, Zhang Zizhong's army was also very patriotic. Under him, protecting the Chinese people was the first priority.
Bad habits in the traditional army, such as flirting with women, were absolutely impossible for General Zhang Zizhong to do.
For a time, the Japanese army provoked relations between the people and General Zhang, and Zhang Zizhong was even branded a "traitor".
In the face of such a stigma, Zhang Zizhong was once depressed,
Even wanted to commit suicide
。 But under the protection of Feng Yuxiang and others, Zhang Zizhong survived the most difficult period.
Subsequently, he proved his patriotism with his own practical actions.
In this way, the troops led by Zhang Zizhong certainly achieved good results.
In 1929, when Chiang Kai-shek inspected the whole country with divisions as units,
Zhang Zizhong's 25th Division won the first place in the country with its strict military appearance and well-trained training.
The Battle of Zaozhuang in 1940 was the last battle of General Zhang Zizhong's life.
General Zhang Zizhong, as commander-in-chief, personally led his troops across the river despite the dissuasion of his subordinates.
Since he could not contact the 38th Division and the 179th Division, Zhang Zizhong did not know or expect that Tang Enbo would take the initiative to abandon Zaoyang, let alone that he was about to face the attack of the absolute superiority of the Japanese army.
At 3 p.m. on May 16, the troops led by General Zhang Zizhong suffered heavy casualties under the overwhelming superiority of the Japanese army, and even so, they finally resisted stubbornly on Almond Hill for an hour. In the melee, General Zhang Zizhong was shot in the head, and later stabbed by the Japanese bayonet, and was martyred.
It is said that after the martyrdom of General Zhang Zizhong,
As the "sworn enemies" who made the Japanese army feel frightened, the Japanese officers present stood up and respectfully saluted the remains.
The Japanese commander Murakami Keisaku ordered his men to make a coffin from the nearby Weihuashan carpenter shop, and buried the body in it, buried it on the slope behind the Chen Family Ancestral Hall, and erected a tombstone for General Zhang Zizhong.
"Although General Zhang Zizhong is dead, he is still alive in the hearts of the soldiers."
General Zhang Zizhong was brave and good at fighting, and was not afraid of strong enemies. From the Great Wall War of Resistance to the sacrifice of the Battle of Zaoyi, he defended the motherland from foreign aggression with practical actions, representing the indomitable dignity of the Chinese nation and worthy of a generation of famous anti-Japanese generals.