On April 18, 1944, in order to open up the mainland communication line, the Japanese army launched the Central Plains Campaign and attacked the hinterland of Henan on a large scale. The Kuomintang diehards still adopted a policy of passive resistance and active anti-communism, and hundreds of thousands of troops fled without a fight, losing 100 miles in a day and losing 38 cities in 37 days, so that the vast area of Henan fell under the iron heel of the Japanese army. At the same time, the Kuomintang still left the 15th Group Army's He Zhuguo Division, the 19th Group Army's Tang Enbo Division, and the 21st Group Army's Li Pinxian Division's Division in the Fuyang, Taihe, and Dabie Mountains to attack the Communist-led anti-Japanese base areas at the same opportunity. The broad masses of people in Henan were living a miserable life under the ravages of the Japanese attack and the stubborn Kuomintang troops, and hoped that the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army would rescue them at an early date.
In order to strike at the Japanese army attacking the Central Plains, develop the anti-Japanese situation in Henan, and strategically connect the three regions of Central China, North China, and Northern Shaanxi, the Party Central Committee proposed on July 25 of that year to develop behind enemy lines in Henan. The strategic principles and tasks of controlling the Central Plains were decided to use the First Division of the Taiyue Military Region of the Eighth Route Army to open up western Henan, and the First Division of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region to go south to strengthen the Sui (County) Qi (County) and Tai (Kang) areas; the First Division of the Fifth Division of the New Fourth Army to develop northward along both sides of the Pinghan Road, and the First Division of the Fourth Division to advance westward into the Henan-Anhui Soviet Border Region, first restore the Xiao (County), Yong (Cheng), Xia (Yi), and Su (County) base areas, and then open up the connection with the Suiqi Tai Region, and control the area east of the New Yellow River.
This decision of the CPC Central Committee has greatly encouraged all the commanders and fighters of the Fourth Division. "Fighting back to the west of the road and liberating the Henan-Anhui Soviet border area" is exactly what the commanders and fighters of our Fourth Division have dreamed of in the past three years since they moved to the east of Jinpu Road. In order to resolutely carry out the strategic task of the Central Military Commission and the Military Headquarters of the New Fourth Army on developing behind enemy lines in Henan, the Fourth Division decided to have Division Commander Peng Xuefeng, Chief of Staff Zhang Zhen, and Director Wu Zhipu lead four infantry regiments and one cavalry regiment to set off from Bancheng and march westward.
Our 11th Brigade was led by Brigade Commander Teng Haiqing and two regiments to follow Division Commander Peng, and I led some troops and personnel of the sub-district organs to stay in the east of the road.
When I heard the news that Division Commander Peng was going to lead his troops on a westward expedition, I hurriedly mounted my horse on the afternoon of 14 August, the day before he set out on the expedition, and set off from Douchong, where the divisional headquarters was located, and rushed to Bancheng, where the division headquarters was stationed, to see off Division Commander Peng.
The August heat is scorching, and you will sweat a little bit. I was in a hurry, and I worked my way up. By the time they reached half of the city, the men and horses were already sweating profusely. I saw Division Commander Peng from afar, hurriedly turned over and dismounted, and reported: "Division Commander, on behalf of the comrades left behind in the 11th Brigade, I will see you off!"
Master Peng pulled me to sit down in the shade of a tree, and gave me a big fan, and then said in a loving tone: "The weather is so hot, far away, what are you doing here?
After chatting for a while, I asked Master Peng to leave some instructions for our future work. Division Commander Peng gently shook the pu fan in his hand, pondered for a while, and said: "You stay in Ludong, and there are many things to do, and you must defend, consolidate, and build this base area well, so that we can relax in Luxi and concentrate our strength on our fists to beat the enemy hard!" He lit a cigarette, took a deep breath, and said slowly: "We must follow the instructions of Political Commissar Deng Zihui to do a good job and develop local armed forces tightly. We must take a long-term view, fight devils now, and fight against the Kuomintang diehards in the future, and the bigger the armed forces, the better, and the better the development!"
The guards came to call for dinner, and we ate and talked again. Master Peng talked and laughed vigorously, and I was constantly laughed by his speech.
When it was dark, Master Peng sent me to the intersection, took my hand, and said heartily: "Okay, we'll see you in the east in the future!"
...... I walked a long way, and when I looked back on the horse, Master Peng was still standing at the intersection of the village in the twilight, and waved his hand to me again, as if urging me to hurry up and get on the road. I remember that Master Peng often likes to use the poem "Home is like the night when the moon is full, and there are many people like flowing clouds and scattered places" to describe our combat life. Life and death were commonplace during the war years, but I never thought that this hurried farewell to Master Peng would become an eternal secret!
After Division Commander Peng led the main force of the Fourth Division to the west, our comrades who remained in the east of Huaibei Road triumphantly persisted in the struggle. With the support of fraternal troops, the "sweeping" and "encroachment" of the Japanese puppet army were smashed, and the movement to support the army and join the army was enthusiastically launched. When mobilizing to join the army, all localities in the border regions strictly implemented the policy of not coercing, buying, or cheating, and the policy of "three no's and four musts" of having good composition, being young, being physically strong, and having a clear background; more than 15,000 young and middle-aged people have consciously joined the army, 10 independent regiments have been established, and the militia and self-defense forces have grown to 220,000. All localities also continued to send troops to the main forces, organized local armed forces to upgrade the main forces, and supported the westward troops with manpower, material, and financial resources, thus successfully carrying out the tasks that Division Commander Peng was concerned about before his westward march to transform the grassroots political power, expand the anti-Japanese armed forces, and consolidate the base areas.
It's late autumn in the blink of an eye. One day in October, when I and the comrades of the sub-district went to various counties to inspect our work, we were passing by the intersection of the road north of Bancheng when we overheard the common people talking about an ox cart coming from the west a few days ago, and a coffin was being pulled on it, and later the coffin was transported by boat from the mouth of the Tan River to the reeds of Hongze Lake, and the comrades of the New Fourth Army escorting them were only crying and refused to say who the deceased was.
I was taken aback by this sudden news, and with the instinct of a soldier, I felt that things were a little wrong, because under normal circumstances, sacrifices on the battlefield would be buried on the spot, but how could this time be an exception? Could it be...... I don't dare to think about it anymore. After returning to the sub-district, I immediately called and asked Political Commissar Deng Zihui.
As soon as the phone was connected, I opened my mouth and asked, "Political commissar, did we have a chief sacrifice?"
"......." I couldn't hear an answer on the phone for a long time, and I held the microphone tightly, and a layer of sweat oozed from my palms. I wanted to confirm the news, but I also wanted the council to tell me that "nothing happened" and "everything is fine". I waited, and the time passed second by second, and after a while, the painful voice of Political Commissar Deng Zihui came from the microphone: "Yes, Comrade Xuefeng sacrificed." "
As if I was hit by strong electricity, I had a "boom" in my head, and I stood dumbfounded with the microphone, and I didn't hear a word of what the political commissar said below. How is this possible? How can it be true? How can people believe it? Has our Master Peng left us like this? However, the warm microphone was still in my hand, and Political Commissar Deng's words hit my eardrums over and over again, and my mind went blank, and the only thing that was reflected was Master Peng's smiling face, as if to say to me: "Wait, we are going back!"
At night, I couldn't close my eyes, and I couldn't fall asleep after tossing and turning. The scenes of getting along with Master Xuefeng skipped in front of me one after another, as if it was yesterday.
As early as when I was in the Red Fifth Army Corps in the Central Soviet Region, I often heard that there was a Peng Xuefeng in the Third Army Corps, and many of his legends: In the summer of 1930, Peng Dehuai led the Red Army to capture Changsha for the first time, and the first to attack the city was a brigade led by Peng Xuefeng; in August 1932, in the "Le'an Incident" that shocked the Red Army In November 1933, in the battle of the Octagonal Pavilion in Fuzhou, the Kuomintang army took advantage of the gap to rush to the vicinity of the headquarters of the Third Army Corps and the Fourth Division, and the situation was extremely urgent.
Comrade Xuefeng participated in the 25,000-mile Long March, climbed snow-capped mountains, crossed grasslands, and arrived in Yan'an with Chairman Mao and the Party Central Committee. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, he served as the chief of staff of the Eighth Route Army Headquarters and the director of the office in Jin. In 1938, in accordance with the instructions of the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao, in order to open up the anti-Japanese situation behind the enemy lines in Central China, he came to Zhugou, Henan, and led more than 300 enthusiastic young people to advance into eastern Henan and Huaibei, actively fought against the enemy, mobilized the masses, and strengthened the anti-Japanese armed forces. By the end of 1939, the Sixth Detachment of the New Fourth Army led by him had become a guerrilla regiment with nine regiments of more than 12,000 people, and the anti-Japanese base areas in the Henan-Anhui Soviet border region had begun to take shape.
Comrade Xue Feng was ordered to drive in the land of tigers and wolves in the midst of danger. Commander Peng Xuefeng, who has heard of it, is both civil and military, and can speak and write, whether it is commanding thousands of troops and horses, running newspapers, or acting, everything can be done. In the east and west areas of Jinpu Road in Huaibei, when it comes to Commander Peng of the six detachments, no one knows about it. Although he was a young and promising senior general, he was approachable, a corporal with good manners, and was our commander and direct superior in battle, but in peacetime, he was an ordinary soldier among us. His thinking, style, and moral character are a model for our Xi and a good teacher for us. I remember that whenever the leading comrades of our regiments went to the detachment headquarters for a meeting, the comrades always had the cigarettes in Comrade Xuefeng's yellow canvas bag at their disposal. He was afraid that there would be something special, so he often taught us: "Our soldiers are far away from their hometowns, rely on their fellow villagers at home, rely on friends when they go out, and rely on leaders when they arrive in the army. "Many cadres have considered that the chief has to lead troops to fight a war and also to plan the overall situation, often stays up late and is overworked, and has repeatedly suggested that the organs open another small stove for him. Comrade Xue Feng knew about this, and he said angrily at a cadre meeting: "I hope that comrades will not put forward the suggestion of 'opening a small stove' in the future, because the rice of the 'small stove' is not easy to 'digest', and it is still a big pot of rice to swallow smoothly." Soldiers can fight and charge when they eat a big pot of rice, and we can know the joys and bitters of the soldiers when we eat a big pot of rice. After that, no one dared to make any more suggestions to change the stove.
Once, Comrade Xue Feng was sick, and the cook quietly made him a sick meal, saying that it was a sick meal, but in fact it was just a bowl of noodles. He knew that several of the soldiers were also sick, so he asked the cooks to give them food. The cooks and guards couldn't bear to send it, so he took it himself, and he still ate sorghum noodles and dried potatoes like his comrades. He was kind to himself and kind to others, and his virtues were not only known to the comrades of the army, but also to the masses of the people in the Huaibei anti-Japanese base area. Once, when he was sick and had a fever, the cook secretly ordered a bowl of noodles, and it happened that there was an old lady nearby who was also sick and had a fever, and when he heard about it, he asked the correspondent to bring the bowl of noodles to the old lady. At the beginning of the meal, while eating the dried yams, he smiled and said to the comrades around him: "Don't underestimate this dried yams, even if it feeds the people and our troops in the Henan-Anhui Soviet border area, we can't forget it when the war ends and our life is rich." After the old lady recovered from her illness, she learned that the bowl of noodles was given by the commander, and she was so excited that she burst into tears. At that time, as long as the people in the Henan-Anhui Soviet border region sat together, it was not a topic of conversation without talking about "Commander Peng"; all the common people who knew him were willing to talk with him when they met, and sometimes they even made a joke affectionately.
Comrade Xue Feng lived a frugal life, and his own outfit was no different from that of a soldier. Once, before distributing the clothes, the clothing factory sent a comrade to tailor the clothes to the head of the detachment. Commander Peng hit the nail on the head and criticized: "You quilt factories are still very capable of devising new tricks! Wow, I have no objection to measuring them, go back and tell your leaders, please first measure the figure of every soldier in the unit, and then come to me to measure them!" After receiving criticism, the comrades of the quilt factory were happy and convinced, and they repeatedly commented: "Chief, we are wrong!" Because of Commander Peng's strict requirements, most of the cadres of the Fourth Division are the same as the soldiers, with food, clothing, housing, and transportation, and do not make any special trouble. These silent exemplary actions are like mirrors reflected in the hearts of the commanders and fighters, imperceptibly cultivating the thoughts and sentiments of the soldiers.
Comrade Xue Feng was not only an outstanding military commander who led troops to fight a war, but also an outstanding political worker and propaganda agitator. During the Anti-Japanese War, the "Dawn Newspaper" founded by him was a newspaper that soldiers rushed to circulate, rich in content, strong in combat, and neatly engraved and beautifully mimeographed, which was famous in the New Fourth Army and was praised by Chairman Mao and was known as one of the military newspapers that was well run. Whenever he went down to the army and heard something meaningful, he always encouraged the soldiers who could write it to write it into a report and submit it to the "Dawn Newspaper". He was also an active correspondent for the Dawn, often writing editorials and reviewing important articles. The articles he wrote were simple to understand, fluent, bright and vivid, and reasonable, and were deeply loved by the vast number of cadres and fighters. The Dawn Theater Troupe organized and established by him was a literary and artistic light cavalry active in the Huaibei region, which often went deep into the troops, and performed a variety of programs, which played a great role in propaganda and anti-Japanese resistance, and at the same time greatly enriched the cultural life of the troops. The cavalry regiment he created and cultivated single-handedly was a strong force capable of fighting well, and in a series of battles such as the famous Cao Weizi, Xiao Zhuzhuang, Xiao Zhuji, and Guanzhuang, the enemy was defeated and scurried. Comrade Xuefeng cares about these "three treasures" and cultivates them carefully. Because of this, the New Fourth Army won the glorious title of "the first army of civilization in the world" in the Henan-Anhui Soviet border region. This is the heartfelt appreciation of the masses of the people! And in the midst of this appreciation, how much effort has our Commander Xuefeng spent!
At that time, for fear of affecting the mood of the troops, the news of Division Commander Peng's martyrdom had always been kept secret from the troops, but how could this secret be kept? The bad news weighed down on people's hearts like a lump of lead and pierced people's hearts like a sharp knife. The warriors silently endured great grief and turned their hatred into the strength to kill the enemy bravely.
In January 1945, the public mourning of Comrade Xue Feng began. On the 5th, the Huaibei District Party Committee made the "Decision on Remembering Comrade Xuefeng, the Late Division Commander of Peng". On 21 July, the Central China Bureau and the Political Department of the New Fourth Army issued a "Decision on Commemorating Comrade Peng Xuefeng," which recounted Comrade Xuefeng's life and deeds, introduced Comrade Xuefeng's sacrifice, and made three decisions: First, Yongcheng County in Huaibei was renamed Xuefeng County; second, the fourth branch of the Kang Da held in Huaibei was renamed Xuefeng Military and Political University; and third, Comrade Peng Xuefeng's deeds of glorious struggle throughout his life were written and published in a biography and published in all divisions of our army as teaching materials for soldiers.
On February 5, a memorial meeting was held in the semi-town on the shore of Hongze Lake to commemorate Comrade Xuefeng. The conference was presided over by Zhang Aiping. The venue of the memorial service was solemnly decorated. On the venue hung Mao Zedong, Zhu De, Liu Shaoqi, Peng Dehuai, Chen Yi jointly presented elegiac couplets:
With the 20 years of difficult cause, it is about to be completely completed, endure the brilliant achievements, the name will always be there, the first will be loyal, and it is a good example for the Communists;
Thousands of miles of broken rivers and mountains are waiting to be cleaned up from scratch, blood is splashing, sacrificing for the country, full of grief and indignation, mourning heroes for the Chinese nation.
The soldiers and civilians present at the meeting wept silently. All the horses of the cavalry regiment wore black veils and stood with their heads bowed, and the actors of the Dawn Troupe wept into tears one by one. People from all over Huaibei spontaneously gathered to the shore of Hongze Lake from all different directions, and the hearse was transported to the burial site on the field several miles along the way, forming two thick human walls, and the cry shook the sky. In accordance with the customs of their hometowns, many people set up small square tables along the way, lit incense and candles, offered wine and food, and the whole family stood solemnly on the side of the road to send the funeral of the late teacher Peng.
The people miss him, the fighters miss him, and the party misses him even more! The couplet sent by the CPC Central Committee reads:
For the nation, for the masses, 20 years of struggle from birth to death, meritorious
the Motherland;
Fight Japanese criminals, fight traitors, millions of compatriots are free and equal, and Ze is Changhuai.
Chairman Mao Zedong's handwritten words for Xue Feng read: "Comrade Xue Feng died in the struggle against the enemy, and the whole nation and the whole party mourned this loss. In order to compensate for this loss, we should learn from Comrade Xuefeng's heroic spirit Xi make greater efforts to expand the liberated areas, expand the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, and bring about a coalition government and a joint high command, so that the Japanese aggressors can be wiped out at an early date under effective joint strikes, and an independent and democratic new China can be realized at an early date. "
The elegy sent by Commander-in-Chief Zhu De was: "Comrade Xue Feng took the lead and died heroically on the front line of the Chinese people's resistance against Japan and national salvation; this is the unsurpassed glory of Comrade Xue Feng personally, as well as the unsurpassed glory of the Communist Party of China, the Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army, and the Chinese people." "
The party Central Committee, Chairman Mao, Commander-in-Chief Zhu, other leading comrades of the Central Committee, as well as the Central China Bureau and the Military Department of the New Fourth Army presented an elegy and a couplet to Comrade Xue Feng, praising the revolutionary achievements of Master Peng in his life and expressing deep condolences for him.
At the memorial service, Master Zhang Aiping recited the elegy he wrote for the late Master Peng, writing:
"For the sake of the people and the party for the past 20 years,
The merits you left behind are brilliant.
The first battle of the Octagonal Pavilion in Changsha City was honorably wounded,
The Le'an Incident was awarded the Red Star Medal,
The snow-capped mountains and meadows are tempered into steel,
Ignited the anti-Japanese beacon fire in eastern Henan,
In Huaibei to crush the enemy "sweep".
Be loyal to the party, go to the soup for the people,
Brave and good at fighting, witty and tenacious,
is our role model. "
This elegy poured into the nostalgia of the military and people of Huaibei and shook our hearts.
Subsequently, a burial ceremony was held, and the coffin of the late division commander Peng was placed in the tomb, and the leading comrades and representatives from all walks of life shoveled soil together to bury it. Political Commissar Deng Zihui delivered a speech at the tomb and spoke highly of the glorious life of the late Master Peng.
Later, I heard Comrade Zhang Zhen, chief of staff, recall the details of Comrade Xuefeng's sacrifice: When Division Commander Peng led the main force westward to cross the Tianjin-Pudong railway, the stubborn army entrenched in the Xiao Yongsu area unreasonably blocked the way of our army. In order to remove the obstacles to advance, our army swept away the reactionary forces entrenched in this area, and annihilated in one fell swoop the recalcitrant army Wang Chuanshou who was stationed in Xiaozhuzhuang, south of Xiao County, and greatly deterred the recalcitrant army in Luxi. After our army gained a foothold, it took advantage of the victory to expel the first part of the recalcitrant army in Luxi, and at the same time defeated the recalcitrant first column, and won the third detachment of the division to revolt.
At this time, the rebel Liu Ziren's troops colluded with the stubborn puppet to besiege us in the Yongxia area, in an attempt to prevent our army from advancing westward. When the enemies saw each other, they were very red-eyed. Liu Ziren owes our army a sum of blood debts, which should be repaid today! After careful reconnaissance and meticulous planning, Division Commander Peng commanded his troops to launch a strong attack on the rebels on the evening of 3 September. Our army first surrounded the rebel command office in the Baoan Mountain Temple, and bravely broke into it with lightning speed and smashed the rebel command post. The rebels fled with all their might, and the division commander ordered our cavalry regiment to bite and slash and kill. At this time, the rebels counterattacked, and the division commander ordered the cavalry regiment to attack head-on, and ordered the 31st regiment to attack its flanks in a detour, and the battle continued until dawn. This battle not only wiped out the viable forces of the rebels, but also caused the recalcitrant Luxi defense line to collapse rapidly. Immediately afterwards, Division Commander Peng led his troops to march westward and launch an offensive against the enemy's puppets, linking strongholds such as Huangzhuang, Juji, and Mazhuang, and quickly recovering the Xiao Yongsu area. The broad masses of people in this area saw the light of day again, rejoiced, and jubilated, and they all went to the New Fourth Army to confide in their sufferings over the past three years.
Subsequently, our army pointed directly at Balizhuang between Yongcheng and Xiayi. Here is the stubborn, pseudo, bandit "mixed-race" Li Guangming detachment entrenched. This local snake is doing evil in this area, harassing everywhere, and the people are complaining. As soon as our troops arrived, the people who wanted to wear it were like seeing a savior, and the elderly man and the boss all surrounded Master Peng and said with tears in their eyes: "Commander Peng, since you left, the sky has fallen, quickly get rid of those pests!"
In order to prevent our army from advancing westward, Li Guangming's detachment not only built a walled area in Balizhuang, but also built a small polder in the southwest corner of the stockade, and built a very high pillbox in the middle of the small polder. The situation around Balizhuang can be seen at a glance on this bunker.
After breakfast on September 10, 1944, Division Commander Peng rode his big white horse called "Locomotive" and led the cavalry communication squad to each regiment to arrange tasks. Detailed instructions were given to the 25th Regiment for the main attack, the 32nd Regiment for reinforcements, and the cavalry regiment for the reserve, and another mobilization of the troops was carried out before the battle.
At night, the battle began. The 25th Regiment, supported by light and heavy firearms, heroically crossed the eight-foot-wide and one-man deep outer trench and attacked Balizhuang from the north and east at the same time.
At about 3 o'clock in the morning of the 11th, after the battle in Dazhai, Division Commander Peng personally interrogated the two captured puppet captains in the Catholic church in Balizhuang, studied the deployment of attacking the southwest polder, and then personally went to reconnoiter the terrain. Division Commander Peng keenly discovered that the enemy was using the central pillbox to observe and tightly block the route of our attack on Weizi with a light machine gun, causing our troops to suffer heavy casualties in the enemy's movement. He immediately ordered the 25th Regiment to bring in special marksmen to block the enemy's gun holes. After a while, the enemy's machine guns were dumb. Division Commander Peng then ordered his troops to launch a general attack. At dawn, the enemy could not support it and broke through and fled. Division Commander Peng told the 25th Regiment to pursue hard, and on the other hand, told the Cavalry Regiment to volley. He stood on the high place of the wall to observe and command, but when he saw the smoke and soil flying outside Balizhuang, the sound of killing shook the sky, the cavalry regiment attacked, and the war horses rampaged through the enemy, and the enemy had neither the strength to fight back, nor the ability to parry, so they abandoned their weapons and surrendered. Master Peng clapped his hands happily!
Within a few minutes, the battle was drawing to a close, and groups of prisoners were brought to the division command post. Division Commander Peng was about to escort the cavalry regiment to his detachment commander for interrogation, when suddenly a stray bullet flew in, and Division Commander Peng was unfortunately shot and fell, his eyes looked at the chief of staff, and he lost his light in an instant. Upon examination, the bullet that hit him in the heart had not yet come out.
In this way, Comrade Xue Feng shed his last drop of blood for the liberation of the nation, and was only 37 years old when he died. He died too early!
[Rao Zijian, September 1909-September 2000, formerly known as Rao Guohan, was born in Liuyang County, Hunan Province. In 1927, he joined the Workers' and Peasants' Self-Defense Army and joined the Chinese Communist Youth League. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1930. In 1955, he was awarded the rank of lieutenant general and a member of the Fifth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. 】