<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="1" > weak scholars to a generation of famous generals</h1>
Zheng Dongguo was born in 1903 to a peasant family in Nanyue Township, Shimen County, Hunan Province. After graduating from Shimen Middle School, after the baptism of the "May Fourth Movement", when he heard that his fellow villagers were going to apply for the Whampoa Military Academy, Zheng Dongguo also began to be eager to try.
As a result, he traveled to many cities, but the registration was already closed. Helplessly, Zheng Dongguo finally came to Guangzhou, ready to simply stay in the Guangzhou camp as a soldier, and retake the exam in the next period. Unexpectedly, the owner of the inn where he lived was also a Hunan native, and at that time there were many fellow villagers who came to apply for the military academy in the hotel, and at the same time he also met several fellow villagers who applied for the examination from Linli, Hunan.
One of the compatriots named Huang Ao told Zheng Dongguo that he was afraid of not being able to pass the exam, he applied for the exam twice, and now he was admitted, so he had an extra place, so he asked him: "Do you want to take the exam with my name?" In addition, Zheng Dongguo was a little anxious at that time, so he decided to try it. As a result, he really passed and entered the first phase of the Whampoa Military Academy. But when he went to register, his name was also "Huang Ao".
Who knew that there was such a coincidence in the world, after enrolling, the two were actually divided into a team, both were one phase and two teams, the instructor was named, and the two true and false "Huang Ao" said "to" together. This made Zheng Dongguo feel particularly stressed. Finally, more than half a month later, he voluntarily admitted his mistake to the school authorities and changed his real name.
It is precisely for this reason that Zheng Dongguo and Huang Ao, as well as two other Fellow Villagers in Shimen, Hunan Province, who were admitted to the first phase of the military academy at the same time, Wang Erzhuo and He Shengyang, became each other's best friends in the military academy. In addition to studying and training every day, several people are almost inseparable.
Later, several of his fellow villagers joined the Communist Party, and Zheng Dongguo often participated with them in rallies organized by the Communists. Even after graduation, he participated in many activities led by Communist Party members and was very active in his thinking. So for a long time, many people thought that Zheng Dongguo was also a Communist Party member. In later barracks life, because of this, Zheng Dongguo was once not reused in the Kuomintang army.
In addition to forging deep friendships with the three fellow countrymen, Zheng Dongguo also met the handsome and dashing Zhou Enlai, who was 26 years old at the time. Because of his vivid and personable lectures, Zhou Enlai was quite popular in school, and Zheng Dongguo also liked to listen to his lectures.
Unfortunately, Zheng Dongguo only attended the military academy for seven months before graduating. Although the time was very short, in the long and long years that followed, although Zheng Dongguo experienced various twists and turns and ups and downs in his political and military career, the patriotic ideas he formed during this period were always rooted in the depths of his soul, and he could finally complete the transformation from a patriot to a socialist.
During the First Crusade Campaign, Zhou Enlai served as the director of the Political Department of the Right Wing Army of the Eastern Crusade, and Zheng Dongguo successively served as the party representative of the 1st regiment and the company of the 2nd regiment of the affiliated party army, and there was more direct contact between the two. Zhou Enlai's outstanding ability in the army's political work, as well as his modest and easy style, left a particularly deep impression on Zheng Dongguo, and he also had special respect for Zhou Enlai from his heart.
A few months later, the Second Crusade broke out, and Zheng Dongguo, who was visiting relatives in his hometown in Hunan at the time, returned to Guangzhou overnight, but never found the opportunity to return to the army. It was not until the Eastern Expeditionary Army completely destroyed Chen Jiongming's troops and concentrated in the Chaomei area that he rushed to Shantou, the seat of the Eastern Expeditionary Army's headquarters.
Seeing Zheng Dongguo again, Zhou Enlai, director of the General Political Department of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, was very happy and immediately sent him to the Chaozhou Field Hospital as a party representative. But Zheng Dongguo was not very happy about this. Because when he was in Guangzhou, his superiors had asked him to serve as a party representative of the Whampoa Military Academy Hospital, but in fact he hoped that he could go to the battlefield and lead his troops to kill the enemy.
So now he had rushed to the front line, and as a result, when he heard that he was still a party representative in the hospital, he was naturally extremely reluctant in his heart. After Zhou Enlai learned of his idea, he said to him kindly: "The work of the hospital is also very important, and you are needed there." You go to work for a while, and then I'll try to replace you later. ”
Finally, when the wounded and sick in the hospital were all recovering and returning to the team, Zheng Dongguo ran to Shantou to find Zhou Enlai, at this time he very happily agreed to Zheng Dongguo's request, and personally recommended him as the battalion commander of the 1st Battalion of the 8th Regiment of the 3rd Division of the 1st Army of the National Revolutionary Army.
After the defeat of the Great Revolution, Zhou Enlai led the "Nanchang Uprising" and fired the first shot against the Kuomintang. As one of the main leaders of the Chinese revolution, he has always fought in the forefront of the times. At this time, however, Zheng Dongguo, because of his ideological limitations, chose a path contrary to his original revolutionary intention.
In March 1938, Zheng Dongguo led his troops to participate in the Battle of Xuzhou, and in the great victory of Taierzhuang, which shocked China and foreign countries, he was promoted to the commander of the 98th Army because of his remarkable achievements. Later, when the troops withdrew south, they participated in the Battle of Wuhan and a series of other battles, and also made many achievements. But what really made him famous in the first battle was the Battle of Kunlun Pass.
At the Battle of Kunlun Pass in December 1939, Zheng Dongguo commanded the Honorary 1st Division to undertake the main task of frontal attack, and fought a bloody battle with an enemy division for more than 20 days. In the end, with the cooperation of friendly forces, a brigade of the enemy army was completely annihilated, and the Kunlun Pass was conquered in one fell swoop.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="71" > the process of ideological transformation</h1>
In the spring of 1948, Zheng Dongguo led an army of 100,000 people to begin to besiege Changchun in the northeast. On March 25, Zheng Dongguo led his army to Changchun, which was heavily surrounded by the People's Liberation Army. For half a year, although Changchun did not experience a deadly war, it suffered a more painful ordeal than the war, that is, hunger.
At that time, the Kuomintang was almost on the verge of a total collapse, and there was no way to recover the defeat in the northeast. It was arguably the most painful time in Zheng Dongguo's life.
As one of the most trusted generals in Chiang Kai-shek's concubine lineage, Zheng Dongguo conquered the famous cities of Luoyang and Jinan in the Liberation War. Before the Liaoshen Campaign, several members of the Standing Committee of Xibaipo also discussed: "It is best to mobilize Zheng Dongguo to revolt." Zhou Enlai also said: "I still know this person, and he belongs to a relatively honest and responsible person." ”
Mao Zedong finally decided to "find a way to win him an uprising", and asked Zhou Enlai to write a letter to Zheng Dongguo in the name of his teacher, advising him to remember the original revolutionary intention of his time in Huangpu, resolutely hold an uprising, and return to the ranks of the people. But because the letter was transmitted to the front line by telegram, there was chaos in Changchun at that time, so it was not delivered to Zheng Dongguo in the end.
In mid-October, the military fortress in the northeast, Jinzhou, was conquered by the People's Liberation Army in one fell swoop. The Changchun defenders saw that the general trend had gone, and they longed for a future, so they revolted and surrendered.
Late one night, Zheng Dongguo, who learned that there was no hope of a breakthrough and was depressed to the peak, suddenly received a phone call: "Someone is talking to you." Zheng Dongguo picked up the earpiece, and the other party opened the door. After a while, another voice came: "I am the representative of the People's Liberation Army, and you know the current situation in Changchun. Hope you think about it seriously. ”
But at that time, Zheng Dongguo still couldn't turn the corner and replied: "Since it has failed, what else can I say except that I was killed in battle?" Laying down arms cannot be done. ”
On the morning of the 18th, a group of Kuomintang leaders concealed Zheng Dongguo and sent people to the People's Liberation Army to negotiate. However, Chiang Kai-shek still sent a group of bombers to cover the breakthrough of the defenders according to the original plan, and the commander on board did not know the truth and continued to ask whether to bomb. Zheng Dongguo politely refused at that time: "Those who used to be their own people, but now the bombing is meaningless, and it only causes the common people to suffer, so forget it!" ”
Forced by such a situation, Zheng Dongguo had to make a final choice. Although he lost on the battlefield, he was not convinced at that time, and he wanted to maintain the so-called military integrity. This caused him to be depressed, as if he were seriously ill.
At 11:00 p.m. on the 20th, Zheng Dongguo sent a farewell telegram to Chiang Kai-shek: "Zengbu suddenly changed, Libu was destroyed, and the overall situation could not be recovered." In the early morning of the 21st, the special task force fired at the air and "fired the last bullet." Zheng Dongguo still had mixed feelings at this time, and even wanted to cut himself off, but fortunately he was firmly held by the guards around him and stopped him.
When Zheng Dongguo laid down his weapons and went out of the city with the troops in frustration, Xiao Jinguang and Xiao Hua, who had been fighting with him for several months, saw him, took the initiative to get out of the car, walked to him, shook hands with Zheng Dongguo, and greeted him, before taking the car to leave.
The senior general of the People's Liberation Army did not stand on his toes as a defeated general, and this detail restored the mood of Zheng Dongguo, who was still very depressed at that time. In the evening, Xiao Jinguang and Xiao Hua invited Zheng Dongguo to dinner together, and they were very kind to him the whole time. During the banquet, Zheng Dongguo only looked down and drank, and refused to speak.
In the end, his heart was like ashes, and he only wanted to be a common man, so he bluntly proposed: "No broadcasting, no newspaper, no public banquet." ”
After the liberation of Changchun, Zheng Dongguo went to the Harbin Liberated Area under the arrangement of the People's Liberation Army, and thus began a new turning point in the course of his life. In his later years, whenever he recalled this period of the past, Zheng Dongguo always said with great thought: "I am sincerely grateful to the great policy of the Communist Party and the painstaking arrangements made by the subordinates!" ”
The original intention of this group of Kuomintang people from Huangpu to join the revolution was to be patriotic and hoped that their country could be revived, and the reason why ZhengDong's domestic heart at that time was always very painful was also because he felt that the Kuomintang had fought for so many years, and in the end not only did not save the country, but was at the end of the road. It was in this process that Zheng Dongguo's thinking had quietly changed.
In the process of transformation, there is still a hurdle that he has not been able to pass, that is, the traditional Chinese "loyalty and filial piety". In August 1950, when Zheng Dongguo went to Shanghai for medical treatment because of his ill health, when he passed through Beijing, Xiao Jinguang and Xiao Hua invited him to eat a hair meal again, hoping that he could participate in the work of liberating Taiwan.
After listening to their suggestions, Zheng Dongguo thought about it again and again, and finally refused. He was very willing to see the reunification of the two sides of the strait, but he was not willing to let him take his own weapons and fight with his former commanders and the people he had worked with.
But after going to Shanghai, Zheng Dongguo discovered where the Communist Party was capable. As early as 1945, when the Anti-Japanese War had just been won, Zheng Dongguo served as the deputy commander-in-chief of the Third Front, responsible for taking over Nanjing and Shanghai, when he saw the soaring prices in Shanghai and the miasma of social smoke.
Now that the People's Liberation Army has only been in Shanghai for a year or two, it has managed the area very well, and this has also had a great impact on Zheng Dongguo's thinking. He saw hope in the Communist Party, and this hope was in line with the ideals and original intentions of his youth.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="72" > chairman took the initiative to light a cigarette for him</h1>
One of the major reasons for the change in Zheng Dongguo's thinking was also the care and care of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai.
When he was on his way to Shanghai on his way to Beijing, in addition to Xiao Jinguang and Xiao Hua, who invited him to dinner together, Premier Zhou Enlai and Nie Rongzhen, another division commander of Zheng Dongguo at the Whampoa Military Academy, also met and feasted on him in their busy schedules. At that time, when Zheng Dongguo learned of this news, he felt very surprised and excited. Unexpectedly, many years later, Premier Zhou Enlai still remembered and cared for his unfinished student.
On the day of the meal, when Zheng Dongguo just walked into the reception room, Premier Zhou saw him and quickly got up, quickly greeted him, looked at him with a pair of bright eyes, and clasped his hand and said: "Welcome, we have not seen each other for a long time, it is rare to have this opportunity..."
Seeing Premier Zhou's frank and enthusiastic performance, Zheng Dongguo seemed to see Director Zhou at that time, his heart was full of mixed feelings, and the two lines of tears almost came out of his eyes, and half a day he said guiltily: "Premier Zhou, for decades, I forgot my teacher's teachings, on the eve of the liberation of Changchun, you personally wrote to me, I thank you and the Communist Party for your leniency policy." ”
Zhou Enlai waved his hand, smiled, and said, "Don't mention the past, didn't you come over?" In the future, we will all do something for the people. ”
During the banquet, Zhou Enlai inquired in detail about Zheng Dongguo's family, life, and work. When asked about his future plans, Zheng Dongguo unexpectedly blurted out: "I have nothing else to do, people are old, and I plan to go back to my hometown to farm." ”
Li Qizhong, a classmate of the first phase of the Whampoa Military Academy and a counselor of the Government Council at the time, who was accompanying him at the time, couldn't help but quip when he heard his words: "Wow, you still dare to call yourself old in front of the teacher!" Everyone burst out laughing.
Zhou Enlai kindly encouraged him: "Dongguo, you are not yet 50 years old, and you still have a lot of time to contribute to the people. Now that nation-building has just begun, there are many things waiting for us to do! Zhou Enlai's words made Zheng Dongguo sweep away the haze in his heart, and he was very moved, so he said that he would first return to Shanghai to treat his illness, take care of the housework, and then listen to the arrangement. Zhou Enlai said: "You can go home and rest first, and you can come at any time after your body is well." ”
In the winter of 1950, Zheng Dongguo wrote to Li Qizhong, in which he said that he was particularly excited because he saw that the motherland was getting better and better, and he was ready to visit Beijing again during the Spring Festival. After Li Qizhong saw the letter, he reported the matter to Zhou Enlai, so Zhou Enlai immediately sent a telegram to Zheng Dongguo and invited him to Beijing.
On the eve of the Spring Festival in 1952, Zheng Dongguo, who came to Beijing, was once again invited by Zhou Enlai. After the Spring Festival, he began to prepare for the itinerary of moving to the capital to work. In June, Zheng Dongguo came to Beijing with his family, and under the kind care of the premier, he was appointed as a counselor of the Ministry of Water Resources, officially starting his new journey of adding bricks and tiles to the construction of new China.
In September 1954, at the First National People's Congress, Mao Zedong personally proposed that Zheng Dongguo be appointed as a member of the National Defense Commission to participate in the state's classified work. At that time, Zheng Dongguo's salary was more than 270 yuan, and he also had a special car, which was a high living treatment.
Soon, Zheng Dongguo suddenly received a golden invitation, opened it, and saw that chairman Mao had sent someone to invite him to zhongnanhai's home. At that time, his mood was both excited and uneasy, and Chairman Mao was taking every opportunity to think of him and set up a banquet, which was a great honor.
On this day, Marshal He Long, Marshal Ye Jianying, and several other generals had already taken their seats, and as soon as Zheng Dongguo arrived, Mao Zedong greeted him and shook hands with him: "Zheng Dongguo, your name is so loud, you are meritorious to the people. After taking a seat, Mao Zedong asked him if he smoked, and Zheng Dongguo replied that he would "smoke" and took a cigarette on the coffee table.
Unexpectedly, Chairman Mao quickly wiped a match and took the initiative to stand up and light a cigarette for him. The details of this action were not intentional by Chairman Mao, who often took the initiative to light cigarettes for others. But at that time, Zheng Dongguo was very surprised, such a leader who was deeply admired and supported by the people, but he was so easy-going and approachable, there was no such domineering appearance, and his mood was instantly much easier.
Mao Zedong said: "Now I am relieved that we are finally sitting on a bench and talking." Hearing these words, Zheng Dongguo was stunned and immediately stood up. Chairman Mao beckoned him to sit down and continued to use his thick Hunan accent to ask about the situation in the Zhengdong state.
Then he smiled and said, "Your family and life are arranged, and you still have to do some work for the people!" You're only 51 years old and still very young! This sentence also surprised Zheng Dongguo deeply, and he did not expect Chairman Mao to know him so well, even his age.
At the banquet that day, Mao Zedong spoke a lot more to Zheng Dongguo, but what he has always remembered afterwards is that Chairman Mao enlightened him with his own personal experience and encouraged him to change his stance, serve the people, and take the revolutionary road. Since then, Zheng Dongguo has also truly embarked on a patriotic path, which has also affected the entire second half of his life.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="73" > did his best for veterans in his later years</h1>
In 1966, during that special period, Zheng Dongguo was always in a state of "calm wind and waves". His home had only been inspected once, and he was very kind to them, saying to them before entering the house: "Mr. Zheng, let's go to your house." "There was no damage when I saw it, and in the end I took only two military fruit knives with me."
After the special period finally ended, all aspects also returned to the past, and the CPPCC National Committee began to resume its work. In 1979, Zheng Dongguo was elected vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Kuomintang Revolutionary Committee, and he was nearly eighty years old at the time, but he still insisted on contributing to his post and still actively offered suggestions and suggestions.
In the 1980s, when more and more veterans of the former Kuomintang uprising surrendered to the policy, Zheng Dongguo's home had several veterans who came to ask for help every week. These veterans did not eat or drink, and after they came, Zheng Dongguo directly let them live in their own homes, and when they left, they gave them clothes and money.
As a result, more veterans began to petition and write letters, and Zheng Dongguo wanted to prove them one by one to explain their historical situation. "At that time, our family spent sixty or seventy yuan a month on stamps alone. Later, the central organ of the Kuomintang Revolutionary Committee felt that this money was for work and could be spent by the public, but my grandfather wanted to pay for it himself. Zheng Dongguo's grandson later recalled.
This is also out of the old man's consistent idea, want to reduce the burden on the country, more importantly, his heart is very painful, "these people originally followed me, the War of Resistance was also fought, the civil war was also fought, and finally they also surrendered to me, or they were treated unfairly." ”
Although this is not the responsibility of Zheng Dongguo, these veterans have indeed followed him from birth to death, and now that there are difficulties, Zheng Dongguo wants to use his own strength to help these people do something and talk about their hearts.
In the 1980s, when Zheng Dongguo's grandson assisted his grandfather in sorting out and writing his long memoir", "My Career as a HorseMan", he said with great emotion: "After the peaceful liberation of Changchun, although I surrendered, I never really 'laid down my arms' ideologically. I was really stubborn at the time. However, once I have identified the truth that I want to realize the original revolutionary intention of throwing myself into Huangpu and ultimately revitalize the Chinese nation, I must take the socialist road under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, never turn back, and never waver again! ”
Under the impetus of the Whampoa spirit, Zheng Dongguo actively devoted himself to the socialist construction of the motherland and the great cause of the reunification of the motherland after the founding of the people's Republic of China, until the last moment of his life. In the summer of 1990, shortly after receiving General Deng Wenyi, a classmate of the first phase of the Whampoa Military Academy who was leading a delegation from Taiwan to visit the mainland of the motherland, Zheng Dongguo fell ill.
On the occasion of his death, Zheng Dongguo said with emotion to the family members waiting at the bedside: "I was once a soldier, and I have taken a very light view of life and death. Live well and don't feel sorry for me. I have no regrets about state affairs and family affairs now! It didn't take long for Zheng Dongguo to lose his ability to speak, and these words became the last words left by his old man to his family.
On January 27, 1991, Zheng Dongguo completed his 88-year long life path and ended his bumpy life.
As descendants, for the life path of the revolutionary ancestors and their dying instructions, in addition to making us lament the hardships they explored on the road of saving the country and the people, it also makes people feel the greatness of their ideals and beliefs in their hearts. What we have to do is to inherit the legacy of our ancestors and pass on their spirit from generation to generation.