At the first session of the First National People's Congress in September 1954, our President, Comrade Mao Zedong, also interacted with the defective Kuomintang general Zheng Dongguo, and Chairman Mao personally evaluated his name at that time, saying "Zheng Dongguo! Jeong Dong Guo! Your name is so loud! "In fact, if you want to understand the story between Zheng Dongguo and his party, you have to start from his life.
Chairman Mao
In 1903, he was born in a rural area in Shimen County, Hunan Province, and because his family had more than 10 houses and 30 acres of land left by his ancestors, it is said that Zheng Dongguo's living conditions from childhood were still good. Because his father also read books, Zheng Dongguo received his father's enlightenment education at a very young age, and then began to study at a private school. After graduating from a private school, he began to study at the Elementary School affiliated to Shimen Middle School, which is mainly based on Western-style education, and since he had never been exposed to Western-style education before, Zheng Dongguo was still struggling to learn when he first entered school. Not long after that, the 14-year-old Zheng Dongguo married Qin La'e, a girl from a neighboring village, under the arrangement of his parents, and after the marriage, the two also gave birth to two sons and a daughter.
Jeong Dong-kook
In 1919, Zheng Dongguo was promoted from the affiliated primary school to Shimen Middle School, but at this time Zheng Dongguo's family situation changed greatly, and his life began to become embarrassing, and even the tuition fee for school was paid by his brother Zheng Tongguo, who was the principal of Shimen Middle School. Inspired by such an environment, Zheng Dongguo began to work hard and made great progress in learning. Soon the "May Fourth Movement" broke out, and under the enthusiasm of the revolution, Zheng Dongguo and his classmates were also deeply affected, and they took to the streets to boycott Japanese goods and publicize the patriotic movement, but he knew that the parade alone was far from enough for "saving the country", and he began to secretly resolve to serve the country from the army.
In 1921, Zheng Dongguo enrolled in the Hunan Army Lecture Hall, but just after he finished his enrollment for a period of time, Zhao Hengti's army, which had established the Hunan Army Lecture Hall, was defeated, and the Lecture Hall was forced to stop. Zheng Dongguo, who returned from defeat, had to return to Shimen Middle School to study. After graduating from Shimen Middle School, he first worked as a teacher in primary school and then was admitted to Hunan Commercial College. However, at this time, he still did not forget his ambition to serve the country from the military. It wasn't until 1924 that his chance came. In this year, he passed the Whampoa Military Academy's admissions examination under the name of someone else, officially became the first student of the Whampoa Military Academy, and joined the Kuomintang at the same time. In November of the same year, after graduating from Whampoa, he was sent by the Kuomintang government to serve as a party representative in the fourth company of the second battalion of the First Teaching Regiment. In 1925, Zheng Dongguo began to accompany the school's military crusade.
In 1926, Zheng Dongguo was appointed commander of the first battalion of the Eighth Regiment of the Third Division of the First Army of the National Revolutionary Army, and a few months later he was incorporated into the Eastern Route Army with his subordinates and participated in the Northern Expedition. In the Battle of Yongding, Zheng Dongguo led his battalion to adopt flexible tactics and negotiate with the enemy, and in only half a day they took the city with the cooperation of support troops, and in this battle, Zheng Dongguo captured and annihilated more than a thousand enemy people, captured more than a thousand guns, and made many meritorious contributions by virtue of the case of a battalion. In the later War of Resistance Against Japan, Zheng Dongguo led the soldiers to kill the enemy bravely and achieved one battle merit after another, and after the end of the War of Resistance Against Japan, it soon entered the period of the War of Liberation, and by 1948, Zheng Dongguo was already the deputy commander-in-chief of the Northeast Suppression Of the Nationalist Army.
Zheng Dongguo, who was in charge of defending Changchun during the Liaoshen Campaign, was "forced to surrender", but because he was forced to do so, he did not speak well of our personnel at first, and he refused to take up a position in the communist government. Moreover, when he surrendered, he also put forward three conditions to our side: "First, he cannot see the report or broadcast the matter of his surrender, just as he has died in battle; second, he will not participate in the public banquet activities organized by our army; third, he will not take up government posts, and he will only be a commoner in the future!" ”。 Zheng Dongguo's stubborn attitude made our personnel feel a little chilly for a while.
Jeong Dong-kook (middle)
However, as for Zheng Dongguo's "prejudice" against us, the organization also said that it is understandable, and when he slowly figures it out, he will accept it. Sure enough, in the two years that Zheng Dongguo had just surrendered, he had been living the life of an ordinary person, and he was still studying the reasons for the defeat of the Nationalist army in his daily life. Subtly, the initial resistance to our party dissipated. Moreover, he also told the people around him that the Communist Party has indeed done a good job in improving people's livelihood and winning the hearts and minds of the people, and it is still willing, and the Kuomintang is not comparable in this regard. After seeing a little change in the new society, Zheng Dongguo also began to slowly learn to accept, and finally joined the Ministry of Water Resources in 1952 to work! He could also feel the equality and respect among the Communists during his work, but this was far less impactful than the banquet in 1954!
(Center) Chiang Kai-shek and Zheng Dongguo
It was in September 1954, after the first session of the First National People's Congress, Chairman Mao personally invited Zheng Dongguo and other comrades to dinner. Zheng Dongguo was extremely nervous about Chairman Mao's invitation, and when the banquet began, Zheng Dongguo was a few minutes late, He Long, Ye Jianying, and others had already arrived, and Zheng Dongguo, who was standing at the door of the banquet hall, was still a little restrained. At this time, Chairman Mao, who was sitting on the sofa, saw Zheng Dongguo at the door, hurriedly got up and came to the door to greet him, shaking hands while saying: "Zheng Dongguo!" Jeong Dong Guo! Your name is so loud! Listening to the chairman's words, Zheng Dongguo did not react for a while, but he laughed at the people on the side, and after a burst of laughter, Zheng Dongguo also relaxed.
Chairman Mao at the banquet
After coming to the position and sitting down, Chairman Mao took the initiative to open the conversation box and asked Zheng Dongguo whether he smoked, and Zheng Dongguo said: "Smoke! ”。 At that time, Chairman Mao's cigarette happened to be on the table, and Zheng Dongguo directly took one and put it in his mouth to prepare the main point, but at this moment, a scene that he would never forget happened: Chairman Mao personally got up, picked up a match, and lit a cigarette for Zheng Dongguo with a very skillful technique! This action of Chairman Mao may have been taken for granted by the other leaders present, and there is no surprise, because Chairman Mao has always been so approachable. However, in the eyes of Zheng Dongguo, who had first contact with Chairman Mao, Chairman Mao's actions shocked him extremely, because in the more than 20 years that he knew that in the more than 20 years that he had been in the Kuomintang officialdom, no superior had ever made such a move against him, let alone Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Kuomintang at that time.
Later, Zheng Dongguo wrote in his memoirs: "Chairman Mao, the number one of the Communist Party, the head of state, and the leader supported by the people, actually lit a cigarette for me!" This cannot but make me feel that the leader of the Communist Party is not an official, but a simple servant of the people, that is, ordinary and great"! Zheng Dongguo, who had followed Chiang Kai-shek for 20 years, also had a new understanding of the Chinese Communist Party after this banquet, although his views on the Chinese Communist Party had begun to slowly improve, but when he came into contact with Chairman Mao, he firmly believed that this was the great leader who could bring happiness to the people and the people, and also made him have a complete change in the Chinese Communist Party! Since then, he has also embarked on the revolutionary road of serving the people. He became an excellent "servant of the people," and he once said to Chairman Mao: "I am willing to serve the people!" ”。
I would like to use this document to the great leader Mao Zedong and Mr. Zheng Dongguo, this prosperous world is as you wish!