In April 1949, Nanjing ushered in liberation. Subsequently, our army approached Chongqing, and the rout of the Kuomintang reactionaries was a foregone conclusion. Seeing that the tide was gone, they began the "last madness". Beginning in September, the kuomintang reactionaries gave orders to kill revolutionary volunteers in prison in batches.
Among the many revolutionary volunteers imprisoned, Chiang Kai-shek could be described as "hated to the bone" for one person, who was Yang Hucheng, who launched the Xi'an Incident with Zhang Xueliang in December 1936. From 1937 to 1949, he was held under house arrest by kuomintang reactionaries.
Although Chiang Kai-shek has always been eager to get rid of it quickly, Yang Hucheng, as a national hero who promoted the Kuomintang-Communist anti-Japanese united front, he never dared to make an easy move, for fear of carrying the infamy of eternity. But now that the defeat of the Kuomintang army was a foregone conclusion, he had no scruples.
On September 6, under the direct orders of Chiang Kai-shek, military agents killed Yang Hucheng at the Dai Gong Ancestral Hall in Chongqing, along with his 20-year-old son Yang Zhengzhong and his 8-year-old daughter Yang Zhenggui.
Yang Hucheng and Zi Zhengzhong and female Zhengkun
Before the sacrifice, Yang Hucheng actually had a premonition of his own end, but he did not expect that the top level of the Kuomintang would be so cruel that he would not even let go of his two children. And he is even more relieved to have his wife Zhang Huilan and 6 children who are living a difficult life outside of prison.
What will their lives be like?
One: Wife Zhang Huilan has been widowed for 44 years and raised her husband's 6 children, but none of them are her own children
Yang Hucheng had 3 wives in his lifetime: Luo Peilan, Zhang Huilan, and Xie Baozhen.
The longest-lived wife, Zhang Huilan, eventually carried the burden after the death of her husband. Compared with the other two, Zhang Huilan was much more obscure. Because the other two wives had followed Yang Hucheng in the southern expedition to the north, only Zhang Huilan had always been at home to take care of the elderly and children. But it was this ordinary woman who, after her husband was killed, held up a piece of heaven for the Yang family.
In 1916, when the 23-year-old Yang Hucheng was a battalion commander in the National Revolutionary Army, he was familiar with a Shaanxi businessman named Zhang Ximing and often walked around each other's homes. It just so happens that Zhang Ximing has a 15-year-old righteous daughter Luo Peilan, who is not only beautiful, but also very intelligent. As soon as he came and went, Yang Hucheng and Luo Peilan secretly had a relationship. Soon, Yang Hucheng entrusted a matchmaker to the Zhang family to propose to him.
Zhang Ximing already admired Yang Hucheng, and seeing that his daughter also had a secret wish for Yang Hucheng, he naturally nodded his head and agreed to this marriage. Soon after, Yang Hucheng married Luo Peilan in Dali County. Embracing the beauty, Yang Hucheng's heart was full of joy. It's just that he doesn't know that there is still a "difficult problem" waiting for him to deal with at home.
Soon after marrying Luo Peilan, Yang Hucheng happily embarked on a journey back to his hometown of Pucheng to visit his relatives. Yang Hucheng lost his father at the age of 14, and it has always been his mother Sun Yilian who runs the family. He knew that his mother's difficulty was not easy, and he also knew that his mother very much hoped that he could start a family as soon as possible and continue the incense for the old Yang family. Now that he is married, such a happy event must of course be told to his mother.
Yang Hucheng
Back at home, Yang Hucheng told Sun Yilian about his marriage, and Sun Yilian was not only happy, but also made trouble. Because during the time when Yang Hucheng left home, she also said a family affair for her son.
In Sun Yilian's hometown, there was an old doctor surnamed Zhang. When Sun Yilian was ill, he often went to his medicine shop to see a doctor. Every time Dr. Zhang boiled the medicine in the medicine shop, he asked his daughter Zhang Huilan to send it to Aunt Sun.
Zhang Huilan had not read any books, but her temperament was very well-behaved and obedient, and she looked very pleasing. Thinking that his son had not yet become a relative outside, Sun Yilian fell in love with this girl as his daughter-in-law. Dr. Zhang knew the situation of the Yang family, and also knew that Yang Hucheng was a young man with courage and insight, and quickly agreed to the marriage.
In this way, an arranged marriage of "the order of the parents, the words of the matchmaker" was said without Yang Hucheng knowing. Sun Yilian was at home alone, and usually there was no one to accompany her, so she often took Zhang Huilan to live at home, as if she had become a family.
Now his son Yang Hucheng has returned, and he has also brought the news that he has become a relative. Sun Yilian also knew that there was no way to hide this kind of thing, so she could only tell dr. Zhang the truth about this matter.
Although in 1912 the Republic of China explicitly stipulated the implementation of monogamy, in those days, many people's ideas had not yet broken free from feudal thinking, and they felt that it was not a big deal for men to take more wives. Dr. Zhang is such a person, he does not mind his daughter as a partial house, insisting on marrying his daughter to Yang Hucheng.
Zhang Huilan is also young, does not understand how marriage is, everything is up to her father. In this way, the "arranged marriage" of Yang Hucheng and Zhang Huilan was thus fixed. It's just that Zhang Huilan was still young at this time, so she only set her name and did not get married.
Yang Hucheng, Zhang Huilan
Until 1919, once Yang Hucheng returned home, at the behest of his mother, the two officially visited the church to become relatives, and 15-year-old Zhang Huilan officially entered the door of the Yang family.
The combination of Yang Hucheng and Zhang Huilan was originally an arranged marriage, and the two gathered less and left more, so in the early days of marriage, there was actually not much affection between them. As Zhang Huilan grew older, she also had her own views on feelings, and at this time she was actually dissatisfied with her father's arrangement. It's just that her resentment is sprinkled on her father, and she always has heartfelt respect for Yang Hucheng, who is 11 years older than herself.
Soon after becoming a relative, Yang Hucheng returned to the military camp to continue the southern conquest and the northern war, and he was accompanied by Luo Peilan, while Zhang Huilan stayed at home to take care of the elderly. How to deal with the relationship between the two wives, in fact, Yang Hucheng has always had a headache, and he is also afraid that the two will fight for the wind and jealousy and lead to discord in the family. It's just that he didn't expect that although Zhang Huilan was young, she was extremely sensible.
In 1922, due to a long time running around with her husband, The pregnant Ropperland fell ill. At that time, the situation was unstable, and Yang Hucheng did not have time to take care of him, so he had no choice but to send Luo Peilan back to his hometown to recuperate. After returning home, Zhang Huilan did not have the slightest dissatisfaction, on the contrary, she took care of Luo Peilan as a sister, and after a period of time together, the two were already sisters.
Under the care of Zhang Huilan, Luo Peilan successfully gave birth to Yang Hucheng's eldest son Yang Zhengmin, and then returned to Yang Hucheng with her son, while Zhang Huilan continued to stay at home to take care of the elderly.
In 1924, Luo Peilan became pregnant again, and she and Yang Hucheng traveled to Dongli Fort in Sanyuan County, where she gave birth to her eldest daughter, Yang Zhengkun. Luo Peilan's health was not good, and coupled with years of running, she fell ill again. In order to allow Luo Peilan to have a place to recuperate, Yang Hucheng bought a mansion here.
After a doctor's examination, Operland was diagnosed with tuberculosis. This disease is extremely contagious, and Luo Peilan is worried about infecting the child, so he asks Yang Hucheng to send his son Yang Zhengmin back to his hometown in Pucheng to be raised by Zhang Huilan.
Yang Hucheng, Xie Baozhen, and second son Yang Zhengzhong
In the spring of 1926, 100,000 Zhensong troops besieged Xi'an, and Yang Hucheng was the main defender at this time. Zhen Song's army could not attack for a long time, and wanted to threaten him with the surrender of Kaesong by controlling Yang Hucheng's family, but when they rushed to Yang Hucheng's hometown of Pucheng County, they found that there was no one in the family.
It turned out that Zhang Huilan had already left with the old man and her husband's eldest son, and they went to the mansion where Luo Peilan was located in DongliBao, Sanyuan County. At this time, Luo Peilan was already terminally ill, but she knew how dangerous the current situation was, and she knew in her heart that it was not safe here, and she did not know when the enemy would touch it, and then it would be "a pot end". It's just that her body has not allowed her to transfer, and she can only entrust the old man and the eldest son to Zhang Huilan and let them leave quickly. The eldest daughter, Yang Zhenkun, was still young and could not withstand the rush, so she let people take refuge among the villagers.
In the following months, Zhang Huilan took an old man and a small east to hide in Tibet, and engaged in maneuvering with the enemy. It was not until October that the situation in Xi'an finally became clear, and Zhang Huilan was finally able to return to Dongli Fort with her mother-in-law and Yang Zhengmin. At this time, Luo Peilan was already exhausted, all with a sense of faith hanging a breath, seeing Zhang Huilan return, she left the last instructions:
"I can't do it!" We have the same husband, the world says it is a love enemy, but we are like sisters. After I die, the people of Salvation and Salvation will please you"!
After saying this, Operland passed away.
At this time, Xi'an finally ushered in the victory of defending the city under the leadership of Yang Hucheng. However, the cost of this victory was too great, and in the 8-month defensive city, more than 30,000 people died of starvation in Xi'an City. Although the defense of the city was victorious, but this incident became a thorn in Yang Hucheng's heart, he could not face the inner torment, after the victory celebration meeting, he quietly hid in the home of a friend in Fuping County, but at this time he did not know the changes in the family.
Seeing the victory of guarding the city, Yang Hucheng, the "tiger general", disappeared, and the leaders of the Nationalist Army were also very anxious, in order to let him "go out of the mountain" again, they thought of a way that was not a way to publish the news of Luo Peilan's illness and Yang Mother's call through large and small packages. Yang Hucheng saw this news and rushed back to his home in Dongli Fort.
After the funeral of Luo Peilan, Yang Hucheng was full of hesitation about the next plan. The revolution needed him, but the old mother and the two children of the family also needed him, and he really did not want to leave them like this. So he consulted with Zhang Huilan.
Although Zhang Huilan had not read any books, she knew that something was more important, and she told her husband:
I fled with my mother, won't I let you do a hard job! You have won the battle, but you have been defeated by yourself! If Sister Perrin were alive, she would have said it in two words. I can't do it!
Zhang Huilan's words were like a head stick, which made Yang Hucheng instantly understand. He did not expect that this usually taciturn wife would be so righteous, and he immediately decided to go on the expedition again.
Later, in the military, Yang Hucheng met Xie Baozhen, a progressive student. At that time, he was still fighting outside for a long time, and he and Zhang Huilan gathered less and more, so unconsciously he came together with Xie Baozhen, and Xie Baozhen also became his third wife.
Xie Baozhen spent more time with Yang Hucheng, giving birth to two sons and five daughters in total, the second son Yang Zhengzhong (who died with Yang Hucheng), the third son Yang Zhengya (who died early), the second daughter Yang Zhengmei, the third daughter Yang Zhengying, the fourth daughter Yang Zhenghan, the fifth daughter Yang Zhenglu, and the younger daughter Yang Zhenggui (who died with Yang Hucheng).
Xie Baozhen and the child
For a long time after that, Zhang Huilan always took care of Yang Mother and the eldest son Yang Zhengmin and the eldest daughter Yang Zhengkun, during which time she also had her own biological flesh and blood Yang Zhengren.
In December 1936, the Xi'an Incident broke out. Although the incident was finally resolved peacefully, Yang Mu was sick because Yang Hucheng "released the tiger to the mountain", and the complex environment of the Xi'an Incident also caused Yang Hucheng to have a heart attack. At this moment, the burden of the family was on Zhang Huilan alone, she had to take care of her mother-in-law and husband, but also to take care of her 5-year-old son Yang Zhengren and 12-year-old daughter Yang Zhengkun.
During that time, Zhang Huilan was busy every day in the dark, which also made her unable to find out in time that her son Yang Zhengren had scarlet fever. When she found out that she was sent to the hospital, she had missed the opportunity to rescue her, and she watched her own son lose his breath in front of her. This incident made Zhang Huilan grief-stricken, caused her a huge mental blow, and once made her nervous. This made the Yang family, who was already miserable, even worse.
When Yang Hucheng saw Zhang Huilancheng like this, his heart was also full of sorrow. He wanted to take her to a large hospital in a foreign country for treatment, but his movement was limited at the time. So he called the eldest son to his side and told him: "Your mother Huilan has always regarded you and your sister as her own, and has paid too much for our family, and you two took her to Kitahira Ichiji!" ”
At the time of parting, Zhang Huilan's spirit still did not improve, and she did not know anyone and would not say goodbye, but just sat in a daze. Yang Hucheng looked at her haggard face, thinking of her selfless contributions to the family over the years, he couldn't help but cry with sorrow, no matter the presence of his son, he knelt in front of his wife who he owed a lot, and murmured in his mouth: "Huilan, just go like this, Tiger City can't stand you!" "It's just that at that time, they didn't think that they would never have the opportunity to see each other again in this life."
In July 1937, the Lugou Bridge Incident broke out and Peiping became no longer safe, so Yang Zhengmin returned to Xi'an with Zhang Huilan and his sister. The call for resistance against Japan from all walks of life throughout the country intensified, and Yang Zhengmin said to his sister: "The all-round war of resistance has been launched!" Daddy is back! Zhang Huilan had been in a trance, and when she heard these words, she miraculously woke up and hurriedly asked about Yang Hucheng's whereabouts.
Years later, in an interview, Yang Zhengmin talked about this experience, and he said with gratitude:
"If it wasn't for Huilan's mother's illness, I would definitely go abroad like my brother and father, one prisoner, one murdered." In addition to the grace of nurturing, Huilan's mother also has the grace of saving her life, and she is very kind and virtuous!"
However, the expected family reunion did not materialize, and Yang Hucheng was imprisoned and put under house arrest by the Kuomintang reactionaries after returning from abroad. He was imprisoned along with xie baozhen, the third wife who had been with her.
Xie Baozhen left her 4 daughters in her mother's house before accompanying her husband abroad, and after she returned to China and was imprisoned, Zhang Huilan immediately went to pick up all 4 children. In this way, after her husband was imprisoned, she raised a son and a daughter born to Luo Peilan, and 4 daughters born to Xie Baozhen, a total of 6 descendants of the Yang family.
Although Zhang Huilan had not read any books, she knew where The Great Righteousness lay, and she also knew that the Yang family had no way out from the Kuomintang reactionaries. So under her upbringing, the 6 children around her all embarked on the correct revolutionary road.
Second: The eldest son refused Peng Dehuai's invitation and later became an oil hero; the 5 daughters were not simple
Among Yang Hucheng's 6 sons and daughters, the eldest son, Yang Zhengmin, has always been the eldest brother with the most ideas.
Yang Zhengmin entered the Yan'an Kang University in 1938 and soon after gloriously joined the Communist Party. Born in a family of generals, Yang Zhengmin has been engaged in military work for a long time, and Yang Zhengmin has performed very well in the military. After the founding of New China, he was only about 28 years old and he was already a cadre at the level of a regular division. If he continues to develop in the military, his future is unlimited.
Yang Zhengmin
At that time, Peng Dehuai was very optimistic about him, and when the Northwest Field Army was preparing to build an air force, General Manager Peng hoped that he could work in the Northwest Air Force, and for this reason he was specially assigned a good position: chief of staff.
It was just that at that time, Yang Zhengmin looked at all walks of life and all walks of life waiting to be rebuilt, he actually had his own ideas in his heart, he wanted to contribute to the country's industrial construction, and wanted to go to Yumen in the great northwest to engage in petroleum work. To this end, he also went to consult with his former old superiors, and after a conversation, he strengthened his ideas. So he politely refused Peng Dehuai's invitation and threw himself into the oil work of New China.
Under his leadership, the output of Yumen Oil Mine has been rising steadily, and he has become the first generation of heroes of the new Chinese petroleum industry.
The yang family's fifth daughter, Yang Zhenglu, like the eldest brother, has chosen the path of the petroleum industry. In 1953, she was admitted to the Department of Petroleum Geology at Northwestern University with honors. After graduation, many people feel that as a girl, she is very prominent in all aspects and should stay in big cities such as Xi'an and Beijing to develop.
But Yang Zhenglu knew that what she wanted was not to sit in the office, she must go to the front line. When she volunteered, she chose the Xinjiang Petroleum Administration, and she was assigned there as she wished. At that time, there was a lack of intellectuals like her in the organ, and she was both a descendant of a martyr and a female comrade, and the leaders wanted her to stay in the geology section of the organ.
Yang Zhenglu did not agree to this, she wanted to go to the geological team, she wanted to work in the field. After repeated requests, the leader could not resist the little girl's soft and hard bubbles, and had to agree to her request. In this way, Yang Zhenglu became the captain of the Geology 117 Team. In the work of geological exploration, Yang Zhenglu has always been a pioneer and has never shouted bitterly or tired. But no one expected that accidents would come unexpectedly.
Yang Zhenglu
In September 1958, Yang Zhenglu's local quality team received a task to go to the Santang Lake area to investigate the petroleum geology. At that time, Yang Zhenglu was preparing for the wedding, and after receiving this task, she resolutely chose to postpone the wedding and embarked on the road to the Santang Lake area.
On September 25, it was the Mid-Autumn Festival of the lunar calendar, and when the weather was clear in the morning, Yang Zhenglu and a team member set off for the exploration mission of the day. The exploration mission went smoothly, and in the afternoon they had finished preparing to return to the station early, and they wanted to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival together at the station in the evening. Who knew that on the way back, they encountered a snowstorm, the temperature suddenly dropped to more than minus 20 degrees, in such a difficult environment, they struggled to move forward.
The team members who stayed at the station saw that they had not returned for a long time, and they were also very worried, and they also drove a car to brave the blizzard to find them, but in that environment, it was too difficult to find the correct route, and they did not find the whereabouts of Yang Zhenglu and Lu after a lap. So they had to return to the station first, and then look for it after the snowstorm subsided, thinking that they might find a hidden place to hide from the snow.
The next morning, the team members set off to embark on the search again, this time they finally found Yang Zhenglu and another team member. Only at this time, they were already frozen in the wind and snow. In this way, Yang Zhenglu, who was about to usher in his wedding, sacrificed for the petroleum cause of New China. She was only 22 years old.
The remaining 4 daughters, the eldest daughter Yang Zhengkun, the second daughter Yang Zhengmei, the third daughter Yang Zhengying, and the fourth daughter Yang Zhenghan, all worked earnestly and earnestly in their posts after they joined the work, never asking for any preferential treatment because they were martyrs' children, and always inherited Yang Hucheng's legacy.
The eldest daughter, Yang Zhengkun, has been working in the propaganda mouth and the education mouth. She was responsible for publications such as Letters from Readers, which were the most popular publications in the early days of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, and died of illness in 1994. The second daughter, Yang Zhengmei, was admitted to Chinese University to study economics at the age of 22, and made great contributions to the industrial cause of New China after graduation. The third daughter, Yang Zhengying, has been working at the Shaanxi Provincial Museum of Culture and History for many years. The fourth daughter, Yang Zhenghan, joined the military cadre school during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and has since engaged in confidential work for many years.
Zhang Huilan, after the death of her husband Yang Hucheng, has not remarried and has been widowed for 44 years. She dedicated her life to the Yang family, and after raising the 1 son and 5 daughters left by Yang Hucheng, she began to raise grandchildren. Although none of these juniors were related to her, they all respected her and respected her.
Before dying, Zhang Huilan said to the children in front of her: "I want to be buried in the ancestral grave to continue to take care of my mother-in-law, and I want to be buried next to Hucheng, but I have never done anything major in my life, I am afraid that I am not qualified."
When this woman was alive, she and Yang Hucheng gathered less and more, and only one biological son died early. But with her selfless efforts, she made several other living children treat her as filial as her own mother. Hearing the mother's hesitation, several children were already in tears, and they choked and said: "The mother's kindness shines for thousands of years, we are grateful to you, and the people thank you." You can't be with your father when you're alive, and you must bury a piece when you're dead!"
Several of her children reported her wishes to the leadership and were approved. In this way, this wife, who could not accompany Yang Hucheng during her lifetime, was finally able to accompany Yang Hucheng around her after her death. At his funeral, the villagers paid tribute to the union, and the two sentences written on it were the best evaluation of Zhang Huilan's life:
Virtuous wives and good mothers respect the elderly and care for children, which can be called Yifan;
A lifetime of hard work and dedication, merit in the country.
The general's family, everyone is good. If he knew, he should be relieved!
Source: A Brief History of Historical Figures