In July 1948, after fighting Xu Qianqian, Zhao Chengshou, commander-in-chief of the Yan Xishan Field Army, was captured alive. Soon, he was sent to Xu Zong's corps headquarters.
As one of Yan Xishan's most trusted former generals, it was not surprising that Zhao Chengshou was personally "summoned" by Xu Zong. But it was not until the two met, through their conversation, that most of the comrades in the corps headquarters knew that they were middle school classmates and had a good relationship in the early years.
As soon as they met, Xu moved a chair forward, told Zhao Chengshou to sit down, and immediately asked, "Do you still know me?" Zhao Chengshou raised his head slightly, looked at it, and replied, "Why don't you know it, it's Zi Jing!" Zi Jing is the word for Xu Xiangqian.
Xu Xiangqian then smiled and said, "Old classmate, your eyesight is still good!" After so many years of breaking up, you are still very strong! After hearing this, Zhao Chengshou shook his head and said, "Shame, shame!" ”
The conversation, in this atmosphere of almost old classmates reminiscing, went on for a long time. Zhao Chengshou's state also relaxed a lot. But Xu Xiangqian suddenly said this sentence at this time:
You're still a bit of a "hero" now! Are you preparing to commit suicide for Chiang Kai-shek and Yan Xishan? I can fulfill you!
In a word, Zhao Chengshou's face immediately changed "color". He understood that Xu Xiangqian today was no longer the "Xiucai" classmate he knew back then. Moreover, Zhao Chengshou was also very clear at this time: in a sense, almost all the people in the Nationalist Army from top to bottom at that time "looked away" in their treatment of Xu Xiangqian.
One: A fierce general who was underestimated by Chiang Kai-shek and Yan Xishan
Xu Xiangqian was a fierce general, which was unimaginable to many people in the early Nationalist army.
First of all, Chiang Kai-shek did not expect it. In his early years, Old Chiang Kai-shek co-opted many generals of our army, including Zhu De, He Long, Peng Dehuai, Chen Geng, and others, but he "ignored" Xu Xiangqian, a "student" who graduated from the first phase of the Whampoa Military Academy.
In 1924, at the age of 23, Xu Xiangqian was admitted to the first phase of the Whampoa Military Academy. In order to show his attention, Chiang Kai-shek should receive these "good seedlings" in batches. That day, it was Xu Xiangqian's turn, only to see Chiang Kai-shek armed with a sword and asking in a Zhejiang dialect: "Are you Xu Xiangqian?" ”
Xu Xiangqian replied in a Shanxi Wutaishan accent: "Yes, Principal." Then Chiang Kai-shek asked several more questions, the last of which was: "What have you done at home?" Xu Xiangqian replied, "I was a teacher!" Chiang Kai-shek let out an "Oh."
Neither very good at talking, nor having a great upbringing, Chiang Kai-shek decided at that time that this "ordinary and strange" student would not have any great success in the future. So, after only a few words, he gently waved his hand and sent Xu forward. Because of this incident, many officers of the Nationalist Army ridiculed that there is still a lot of room for improvement in the principal's "recognition of people".
Secondly, Yan Xishan could not imagine. This is also one of the most helpless things in Yan Xishan's later years.
Yan Xishan is 18 years older than Xu Xiangqian, and both are from Wutai, Shanxi, and their homes are very close together. In 1919, Yan Xishan opened a normal school in Shanxi, and Xu Xiangqian, who was 18 years old at the time, was working as an apprentice in a store clerk in Hebei Province, and his brother wrote him a letter saying that the school was publicly funded. Xu Xiangqian dropped out of school due to his family's poverty in his early years, and when he heard the news, he was so excited that he couldn't sleep all night.
The next day, he said to the teacher on the pretext: "The family told me a daughter-in-law, let me go back to the marriage!" In this way, Xu Xiangqian entered Yan Xishan's school.
However, this Yan Xishan did not know the goods, and Xu Xiangqian stayed in his school for a short time, but he was never "discovered". A few years later, Xu Xiangqian became a general of the Red Army, and Yan Xishan returned to his hometown in Wutai and heard his compatriots say to him: "We also have a general named Xu Xiangqian here." Yan Xishan said half-believingly at this point: "Will Xiucai's descendants be a military expert?" ”
The biggest reason why Chiang Kai-shek and Yan Xishan both looked away was that around the 1920s, there were many "cattle people" in various places, and the Whampoa Military Academy alone was already full of stars. His low-key, humble personality makes it difficult for Xu Xiangqian to attract attention among these people.
Even Chiang Kai-shek and Yan Xishan, who believed themselves to be masters of "the art of knowing people," underestimated Xu Xiangqian, not to mention his middle school classmate Zhao Chengshou. Zhao Chengshou was 10 years older than Xu Qianqian, and the two families were separated by miles.
Compared with Xu Xiangqian's thinness, Zhao Chengshou was very large since he was a child, and he learned a martial art in his early years. Therefore, when he saw Xu Xiangqian when he was a teenager, he always felt that the other party was a "show talent". Later, Xu Xiangqian did work as a teacher in the county, which made Zhao Chengshou not feel that he would be a "threat".
After graduating from qinghe army middle school, Zhao Chengshou soon entered the fifth phase of the Baoding Military Academy and entered the Jin army after graduation. Since then, he has been serving in the Yan Xishan Department and was quickly reused. By the 1940s, he was one of yan xishan's three famous generals.
Two: Xu Xiangqian "World War I Sealing God"
In the middle and late stages of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Xu Xiangqian has been recuperating due to physical reasons. In 1940, when he returned to Yan'an from Shandong and was admitted to the hospital, Chairman Mao personally came to see him at his hospital bed, and Xu Xiangqian said anxiously: "I have to go to the front line quickly, and when the Japanese surrender, I will not fight!" ”
At that time, Chairman Mao had already anticipated that the surrender of the Japanese army would only happen sooner or later, and that civil war would be inevitable after that, so he advised Xu Xiangqian: "Don't worry, your body is not yet healed, or continue to rest in peace, I don't think the Kuomintang will let you idle!" ”
Sure enough, as Chairman Mao expected, in June 1946, Chiang Kai-shek launched a civil war in disregard of public opinion, and Xu Xiangqian, a fierce general, had to come in handy. When he left Yan'an, Xu Xiangqian's health was still not very good, and Chairman Mao personally came to send him and repeatedly said to him: "We will fight it for 3, 5 or 10 years, and you must make this mental preparation!" ”
At first, Xu Xiangqian's arrival did not make Yan Xishan feel very afraid. Although the two had been in contact several times during the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communists earlier, he always believed that this person was nothing compared to his own Zhao Chengshou.
As a result, what Yan Xishan did not expect was that Xu Xiangqian passed the pass as soon as he arrived at the Battlefield of Shanxi. The Jin Sui army in Yuncheng, Linfen, and Yangquan could not collapse in front of him, and Yan Xishan was so anxious to call Zhao Chengshou to the front and scolded: "Didn't you say that Xu Xiangqian could not do it?" How do you think! Zhao Chengshou has always dared to say, and he also replied: "I am not the only one who has misread it..."
And just when Yan Xishan and Zhao Chengshou were complaining to each other, Xu Xiangqian was deploying another important battle, which was famous in military history: the Battle of Jinzhong.
The reason why Xu Xiangqian fought this battle in the Jinzhong region was because he had already figured out that Yan Xishan's defenders in Taiyuan were going to hold out, and a large area of wheat in Pingchuan in Jinzhong was their last ration. Therefore, Yan Xishan, the place in Jinzhong, would not let go no matter what. As long as Yan Xishan can send troops out of Taiyuan and eliminate some of their main forces here, then Taiyuan will be much easier to deal with after that!
Sure enough, as Xu Xiangqian expected, in order to compete for Jinzhong, Yan Xishan laid down a bloody capital: he sent a total of more than 130,000 troops, planning to fight a life-and-death battle with Xu Xiangqian here. At the same time, Yan Xishan appointed Zhao Chengshou as the commander-in-chief of the field army, and Yuan Quanfu as the deputy commander, commanding the troops in the central Jin dynasty.
Here, in particular, it is the deputy commander surnamed "Yuan", who is a Japanese major general and a "treasure" that Yan Xishan has been holding in his hand.
Why was there a Japanese major general in Yan Xishan's troops? In fact, this is exactly what makes Yan Xishan's abomination.
In August 1945, after Japan surrendered, more than 1 million Japanese troops in China began to withdraw one after another. However, there are some diehards among them, who think that it is too faceless to go back, and they are ready to continue to stay in China in another way. Former Japanese Major General Brigade Commander Motozumi Shin is one of the representative figures.
In order to stay in China, Yuan Quanxin led his troops to Yan Xishan, and in order to show his "loyalty", he did two things:
First, he changed his Chinese name to Yuan Quanfu;
Second, he asked his subordinates to erase the Japanese insignia on their weapons and replace them with the word "Jin" and just print them.
At that time, Yan Xishan actually had his own concerns, he always believed that the strength of his Jin army was too weak to compete with other mountains within the nationalist army. In addition, the communist army was firmly watching him, making it difficult for him to have a chance to expand the army.
The Japanese troops who are willing to stay in China are clearly deeply influenced by Japan's "Bushido". They were extreme, cruel, fierce, and regarded the communist army as a great enemy, so Yan Xishan had a concept: even if 100,000 Chinese soldiers were recruited, it would not be as good as 10,000 Japanese.
Therefore, Yan Xishan not only left yuan quanfu behind, but also let them form the so-called "10th General Brigade". After being reused by Yan Xishan, this unit was always a superior presence in the Jin army in ordinary days, and they were paid to take new weapons first.
For a time, the people of Shanxi were talking about it, and some generals of the Jin Army were also dissatisfied, and they scolded "using the Japanese to go against the will of the people." After hearing this, Yan Xishan not only did not repent, but also simply transferred the disobedients away.
With Yan Xishan so "sheltered", Yuan Quanfu was bent on finding an opportunity to show the "power of the Japanese". Hearing that Xu Xiangqian had come this time and the Jin army was defeated and retreated, Yuan Quanfu quickly found Yan Xishan and vowed: Let us Japanese soldiers go up, we will definitely beat the communist army to the ground, and then come to receive the reward with Commander Yan!
Therefore, as soon as Yan Xishan patted his head, he agreed to make Yuan Quanfu a deputy commander. At this time, Zhao Chengshou, who was a close confidant of Yan Xishan, was obviously not very comfortable in his heart. In the early years, Zhao Chengshou was also a fierce general who fought on the anti-Japanese battlefield for many years, and now although he is the commander-in-chief, the limelight has always been suppressed by this Japanese deputy commander. What's more, this Yuan Quanfu has not been very easy to manage since he was partnered with him.
Since the day of the expedition, Yuan Quanfu has not paid attention to the People's Liberation Army at all. He carried fishing rods and Go with the army, and he "played" wherever the troops went. Sometimes, I even take out a haiku collection and engage in "poetry creation" all the way. Every time Zhao Chengshou reminded him not to take the enemy lightly, he just wouldn't listen.
These things, Xu Xiangqian was clear. He made a judgment early on: a martial artist like Zhao Chengshou could not suppress Yuan Quanfu.
After that, under Xu Xiangqian's perfect dispatch of troops, Zhao Chengshou and Yuan Quanfu were defeated. It is worth mentioning that at that time, many soldiers of our army heard that there were Japanese in the enemy army, and they all gritted their teeth in hatred. Some of the warriors ran out of ammunition and fought with the devils with their bayonets. This is also the only white-knife war between our army and the Japanese army since 1945. The end result was that the Japanese army was almost completely annihilated.
At noon on July 16, Zhao Chengshou saw that the general trend had gone and was ready to run. Yan Xishan also sent 4 rescue planes to fly over Xiaochang Village, ready to pick up Zhao Chengshou and others to leave. That is to say, as long as Zhao Chengshou can arrive at the stop site in time, he will have the opportunity to escape.
At that time, Yuan Quanfu was injured, and he shouted: "Commander-in-Chief Zhao, take me with you!" Zhao Chengshou had already taken care of himself, and wherever he was willing to take him with him, he didn't even bother to ignore it and fled for his life.
The end result was that Yuan Quanfu, in desperation, ordered his subordinates to shoot him in the head. Zhao Chengshou did not succeed in escaping, and after abandoning Yuan Quanfu, he only ran for 8 miles, and was surrounded by the People's Liberation Army. The "Southern Reinforcement Corps" sent by Yan Xishan to receive him was also completely annihilated.
Three: "If you want to commit suicide, I can fulfill you"
The Battle of Jinzhong lasted 40 days and became another "Battle of the Gods" for Xu Xiangqian. Later, when Chairman Mao saw him again, he asked directly:
"Alas! You have less than 60,000 people, you have eliminated more than 100,000 people in Yan Xishan in a month, and the regular army alone will take out 8 entire brigades of him! Tell me, how did you fight that Jinzhong campaign?
Of course, summing up the experience is all an afterthought. After the great victory, Xu Qianqian's top priority was to talk to Zhao Chengshou first. Thus, there is a scene at the beginning of this article: Xu Xiangqian and Zhao Chengshou reminisce about the past at the headquarters.
In fact, in the matter of reforming prisoners, Xu Xiangqian has always been very set. In particular, in June 1947, after Xu Xiangqian was appointed deputy commander of the Yiluyu Military Region, he was in charge of the reform of prisoners of war for a long time.
At that time, he had a time requirement for the reform of prisoners of war, that is, for ordinary soldiers, we should try to replenish them to our combat troops in 7 days to half a month. Such efficiency is crucial to the replenishment of our army's strength in wartime.
In order to achieve this, Xu Xiangqian set a series of strict captivity policies:
Do not kill, do not fight, do not scold, do not discriminate, do not search for money, do not insult personality.
People's hearts are flesh, and a large number of these prisoners were originally captured by the Nationalist army, and they often quickly recognized the difference between the two armies and became a PLA fighter willing to fight for justice. Therefore, the officers of the Nationalist Army in Shanxi at that time always wondered: What tricks did Xu Xiangqian use, and why were those people willing to follow him?
For ordinary prisoners, Xu Xiangqian has a set; for senior generals of the Nationalist Army, Xu Xiangqian naturally has a trick. Therefore, after only a few brief conversations with Zhao Chengshou, he directly threw out the sentence: Are you ready to commit suicide for Chiang Kai-shek and Yan Xishan? I can fulfill you!
In fact, Xu Xiangqian obviously did not really want Zhao Chengshou to commit suicide when he said this, but hoped that he would think clearly. After all, this Zhao Chengshou had followed Yan Xishan for so many years, and it was really not easy for him to change easily.
After Zhao Chengshou heard this, he was also frightened, and he said, "I don't mean this, I feel sorry for you!" After Xu Xiangqian listened, he said very seriously: "What do you think you are talking about?" Tens of thousands of casualties were killed and injured on both sides of the Duel in Jinzhong, is it a question of who is sorry for whom among our old classmates? ”
Mr. Xu said this to the point. Zhao Chengshou must understand that this is not a question of different studies among the students, but a question of right and wrong. Only when he truly understands right and wrong can he accept reform. Just for the friendship of classmates, it is absolutely useless.
Of course, Zhao Chengshou also understood Xu Xiangqian's meaning, and people were waiting for his choice. Finally, Zhao Chengshou weakly asked, "Can I?" He wondered: At this point, can he still choose a new way out.
Xu Xiangqian gave him the answer: why not!
Then, Xu Xiangqian gave him a series of examples of successful uprisings and captivity, most of whom were old acquaintances of Zhao Chengshou. In this way, under the persuasion of Xu Xiangqian's hardness and ease, Zhao Chengshou finally nodded.
This time, the two talked for more than 1 hour, and when they were parting, Xu Xiangqian also patted Zhao Chengshou's shoulder and said: "I will wait for you to study for a period of time, and then ask you to return to the Taiyuan front, hire you to be a staff officer for me, and let's fight Taiyuan together!" ”
Although Zhao Chengshou did not become Xu Xiangqian's staff officer later, he made outstanding contributions in recruiting defenders from all over Shanxi and breaking the will of the defenders.
Hearing that Xu Xiangqian was about to attack Taiyuan, Zhao Chengshou came to offer advice, saying:
"Yan Xishan compares Taiyuan to a person, Dongshan is the head, the city is the belly, the north and south airports are the shoulders, and the Xishan mining area is the legs and feet! If the four major fortresses are in hand, the isolated city of Taiyuan is also a thing in the bag! ”
Xu Xiangqian listened and excitedly said, "We want to go together!" It was precisely because of Zhao Chengshou's opinion that Xu Xiangqian was more determined to attack the four major fortresses first. After that, the Battle of Taiyuan, which lasted more than 6 months, annihilated 135,000 enemy troops, ending Yan Xishan's nearly 40-year rule over Shanxi Province.
After the founding of New China, Zhao Chengshou was reused. In 1952, he became a counsellor of the Central Ministry of Water Resources. At the age of 76, he died of illness in Beijing. In his later years, Zhao Chengshou never forgot his old classmate Xu Xiangqian, and whenever he mentioned the conversation after being captured, he was always full of gratitude.
End:
Marshal Xu Qianqian was a marshal from the Huangpu Phase I and a marshal with an extremely low profile. He usually does not talk much, does not talk about eating and wearing, can knit sweaters, speaks five Words in his life, loves Shanxi rice, and is nicknamed "Marshal of Cloth".
In the face of such a strong enemy as Yan Xishan, he was brave and resolute, and in many battles in Shanxi, he commanded with illness and played a miracle in the history of war; in the face of prisoners, he was resourceful and steady, and successfully transformed a number of enemy generals for our army. With this article, I would like to commemorate Xu Shuai.