In the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, many people with the ability to write and fight in China were born, and although these legendary figures may belong to different ranks and have different beliefs, they all have the same goal, they are all driving out the Japanese invaders and building a beautiful new China.
Among them, everyone must know each other, such as Marshal Zhu De and Marshal Peng Dehuai, and everyone is familiar with their deeds, but one of them, who can write and fight, has outstanding merits, and after his death, he has been jointly mourned by both sides of the strait, but now few people know his name.
Jeong Dong-kook
This person is Zheng Dongguo. Zheng Dongguo was born in a peasant family in Shimen, Hunan Province, with rich ancestral wealth, his parents engaged in farming, and he had a total of 5 children. When Zheng Dongguo was 7 years old, he read the Analects with his father and studied the Four Books and the Five Classics in a private school, but later transferred to a Western-style primary school, and his grades were not as good as before, and his studies were very difficult. However, kung fu did not pay off, in middle school, Zheng Dongguo with his own diligent efforts, successfully admitted to the Hunan Army Lecture Hall, although it did not take long to stop, after a lot of turning Zheng Dongguo was admitted to the Whampoa Military Academy.
After graduating from the Whampoa Military Academy, Zheng Dongguo, with his excellent command ability and brave combat style, successfully became a regimental commander at the age of 24, and became a major general in the army at the age of 33.
Zheng Dongguo's promotion speed is inseparable from his great military achievements. In 1925, Zheng Dongguo accompanied the colonel's army on the Northern Expedition, and when attacking Yongding, it took only half a day to throw away the armor and flee the enemy, and then immediately turned around and attacked Meizhou, capturing a total of more than a thousand guns. When the Japanese army invaded china's three eastern provinces, Zheng Dongguo and the Japanese army fought a bloody battle at the South Tianmen for eight days and eight nights, and even personally carried a machine gun to charge forward at the moment of crisis to boost morale. Unfortunately, due to the heavy casualties of other front-line troops, the Nationalist government still had to sign the Tanggu Agreement, and the Great Wall Resistance War failed. But wherever he fell, he had to get up, and Zheng Dongguo was not discouraged by a failure, but strengthened his determination to resist Japan.
After the "July 7 Incident" in 1937, the national united front was established, and the national resistance to Japan was also triggered. Zheng Dongguo had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time, he led his troops to participate in the Baoding Battle, although the final result of this battle was defeat, but Zheng Dongguo repeatedly inflicted heavy losses on the enemy in the Baoding Battle, and after the city was destroyed, he engaged in a fierce street battle with the enemy, until other troops came to support him. With the deepening of the Japanese army, Zheng Dongguo disguised his troops as Japanese troops and launched an attack on the Japanese airfield, which brought great losses to the Japanese army, which also showed from the side that Zheng Dongguo's will to fight was very strong. In the subsequent Taierzhuang Victory, the 2nd Division commanded by Zheng Dongguo participated in the fierce battles against Zaozhuang, Beidayao, and Yixian County, defeated the enemy army, and then assembled with friendly troops, directly creating the most star-studded Taierzhuang Victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan.
Shortly after the Battle of Taierzhuang, Du Yuming invited Zheng Dongguo to take up his post in the newly formed mechanized unit of the newly formed 11th Army, at this time Zheng Dongguo was already a military commander, while Du Yuming only promised him a division commander position. However, Zheng Dongguo did not say a word, gladly agreed to Du Yuming's request, and immediately packed his bags and went to the newly formed 11th Army to take up his post. Someone asked Zheng Dongguo the reason for this decision afterwards, and he said:
In order to win the victory of the War of Resistance, it is not enough to have the morale of the battle, but also to have sophisticated equipment.
Therefore, Zheng Dongguo did not think much about the size of the post, but resolutely decided to go to the 11th Army to solve the equipment problem.
Facts have proved that Zheng Dongguo chose the right one, and on the big stage of the newly organized 11th Army, his talents have been more perfectly exerted, and his immortal merits have been directly cast. After this, Zheng Dongguo was also admired by Chiang Kai-shek, who ordered him to go to Burma to cooperate with the Allies and prepare for the opening of the international communication line between Yunnan and Burma. At first, due to the arrogance and rudeness of the Americans, the work was carried out quite slowly, but after Zheng Dongguo came, on the one hand, he appeased the hearts of the army and actively promoted mutual understanding and friendship between Chinese and American officers and soldiers, on the other hand, he paid attention to safeguarding the dignity of the country, and completed the work beautifully, which was praised by General Stilwell and praised by the Chongqing Military Commission.
After the end of World War II, the Japanese invaders were expelled from the land of China, but what followed was the conflict between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, and Zheng Dongguo, who had been in the army for many years, could not bear to see the scene of cannibalism again.
Advocating peaceful nation-building, I hope that the two parties of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party can sit down and have a good talk
But Chiang Kai-shek was not happy and still launched a civil war.
In February 1946, Du Yuming, who was commanding a large army to seize the northeast, was seriously ill in Beiping for medical treatment, and he invited Zheng Dongguo to Changchun to preside over military affairs for him. However, Zheng Dongguo knew that the People's Liberation Army was so fierce that it made him suffer as soon as it came up, and the Kuomintang army he commanded was violently counterattacked by the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army, and suffered heavy losses. In the past three years in the northeast, Zheng Dongguo has suffered many defeats.
In 1948, the Kuomintang army was gradually defeated in the northeast, and Changchun, defended by Zheng Dongguo, had long been an isolated island under the pressure of the People's Liberation Army, and Zheng Dongguo was completely in a desperate situation. At this time, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which had always advocated peace, hoped that Zheng Dongguo would "abandon the dark and turn to the light" - that is, the uprising, and specially sent Premier Zhou Enlai, who had been a teacher of Zheng Dongguo at the Whampoa Military Academy, to persuade him. So Premier Zhou sent a letter of persuasion to Zheng Dongguo, but unfortunately due to the chaos of the situation, Zheng Dongguo did not receive this letter of persuasion. On October 17, Zeng Zesheng, commander of the 60th Army in Changchun, led an uprising, and the Changchun defenders were completely in a desperate situation, and on October 21, Zheng Dongguo's subordinates secretly contacted the People's Liberation Army and laid down their weapons. When chiang Kai-shek learned of Zheng Dongguo's surrender, he was furious and demoralized, and he specially ordered the propaganda department to issue publications such as "The Changchun Nationalist Army fought to the last bullet, and Zheng Dongguo was martyred in the line of duty" and "Zheng Dongguo's general Cheng Ren, more than 300 officers and men were killed at the same time." And other reports that distort the facts to "add luster" to the face of the Kuomintang.
After surrendering, Zheng Dongguo lived in Harbin, during this time, Zheng Dongguo read the works of Marx, Engels and others, deeply understood communism, and slowly understood why communism could be so popular with the people, and gradually, Zheng Dongguo began to have a certain belief in Marxism. After the outbreak of the Korean War, the Central Military Commission's research on the US military can be said to be a blank, but the Party Central Committee soon thought of Zheng Dongguo, who once mingled with the US military in the Burmese battlefield. Therefore, Premier Zhou Enlai immediately sent someone to the northeast to invite Zheng Dongguo to discuss countermeasures for entering the DPRK.
After Zheng Dongguo was invited to beijing, he briefed Premier Zhou Enlai in detail on the operational characteristics of the US military - relying on sophisticated equipment to suppress the enemy in firepower. But he also said that the American soldiers themselves are not so tenacious in their will to fight, and with the combat effectiveness of the People's Liberation Army, they can completely fight with the US army. Zheng Dongguo's analysis undoubtedly gave a shot in the arm to the situation of "singing the decline" of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea at that time, greatly enhanced the confidence of the central authorities in deciding to fight against the United States, and played a direct role in promoting the entry of General Peng Laozong into the DPRK.
One day in October 1950, Zhou Enlai once again hosted Zheng Dongguo in Beijing, and after Zheng Dongguo came to Zhou Enlai's house,
Zhou Enlai asked Zheng Dongguo, "What are your specific plans for the future?" Zheng Dongguo said: "I have no other strengths, people are old, and I plan to go back to my hometown to farm."
Zhou Enlai said kindly: "You are an uprising general, how can you go back to farming?" You are not yet 50 years old, there is still a lot of time to contribute to the people, and now that the construction of the country has just begun, there are many things waiting for us to do! Zhou Enlai's words made Zheng Dongguo very moved, he said: First go back to Shanghai for treatment, and after the illness is cured, everything will be arranged by the teacher.
In 1952, after Zheng Dongguo recovered from illness, his family moved to Beijing as a counselor to the Ministry of Water Resources, and at the first session of the First National People's Congress, Chairman Mao proposed that he be appointed as a member of the National Defense Commission. After the meeting, Chairman Mao specially invited Zheng Dongguo to a banquet, which surprised Zheng Dongguo, but the accident was more of a surprise.
Zheng Dongguo was said to have not closed his eyes all night of excitement that day, and after the two of them met, Chairman Mao came up and said: "We have finally sat on a bench and talked, and you have done a good job to the people." Chairman Mao explained: "If it were not for your insistence, then Zeng Zesheng's 60th Army would definitely be retaliated against by Chiang Kai-shek, not only would the soldiers in the troops be injured, but the people around the garrison would also be doomed to the bombing and meaningless. You are a famous anti-Japanese general, we speak for counts, as long as we lay down our weapons, we will welcome it.
You're still young, only 51 years old, and you can do a lot of work for Chinese people. ”
Zheng Dongguo was very surprised, Chairman Mao was very reasonable, but he could remember his age, which made him very moved. Not only that, Zheng Dongguo later divorced his wife, and Chairman Mao even comforted him: "People must have a lofty attitude towards life, and they should not be discouraged by temporary twists and turns." As long as you are enterprising, it is not difficult to regain your personal happiness. This is enough to show how much Chairman Mao liked this Kuomintang general. Chairman Mao's words also played a very important enlightening role in Zheng Dongguo's work, and the conversation with Chairman Mao again and again made Zheng Dongguo understand the truth of "coming from the people and going among the people", and he began to truly integrate himself into the people. Later, he served as a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, actively contributing ideas and suggestions to the country's construction and development, and this desire to serve the people was seen and remembered by everyone.
With the passage of time, cross-strait exchanges have gradually become closer, and many veterans in China and Taiwan are eager to find their relatives on the other side of the strait, and Zheng Dongguo has spared no effort to help cross-strait exchanges at this time.
On January 27, 1991, Zheng Dongguo died of illness in Beijing at the age of 88. Both the mainland and Taiwan held solemn memorial services for him afterwards, and his body was buried in the Babaoshan Cemetery, which is the high affirmation of Zheng Dongguo's life by the Party Central Committee and all the Chinese people, and it is also the greatest respect for him. In 2006, during the Qing Ming Dynasty, according to the last wishes of General Zheng Lao, his body was moved back to his original hometown of Shimen and buried in the southern foothills of Jiashan Mountain.