Chen Geng passed away, and the wine in the cup lost its taste. "
This is the emotion issued by Li Kenong in 1961 when the founding general Chen Geng passed away. After saying this, Li Kenong, who has always been a heavy drinker, threw his wine glass on the ground. This sentence may be able to represent the feelings of the old generals for Chen Geng, because he has been the "pistachio" of his comrades-in-arms for many years.
Chen Geng is one of the most individual founding generals. No matter how difficult the battle situation is, he always maintains a cheerful and optimistic attitude, and sometimes just one sentence can dispel everyone's worries. Even in the process of pursuing his sweetheart, he did not hesitate. In order to pursue Wang Genying, he was rejected three times, but he persevered. In the end, with the help of Premier Zhou, he successfully brokered a good story.
Bravely expressing love and hatred has always been Chen Geng's greatest charm. But even so, he had moments of embarrassment. The person who made him feel "twisted" and did not dare to visit was his wife Song Qingling. What's going on?
When it comes to this matter, we have to go back to Chen Yi's unintentional mistake.
In May 1949, Chen Yi led the Third Field Army to successfully liberate Shanghai, and the good news quickly spread throughout the country. As an international metropolis, Shanghai had a status that could not be ignored at that time. For this reason, Chairman Mao gave Chen Yi instructions: The liberation of Shanghai should be carried out in a literary manner, and no force should be used.
Chairman Mao's words were straightforward, and countless people at that time were paying attention to Chen Yi and wondering how he would take over Shanghai. Therefore, before the large army entered the city, Chen Yi agreed on a military discipline with Su Yu and others: the "Ten Rules of the Three Conventions for Entering the City". The Code of Conduct imposed extremely strict requirements on all generals, one of which was that they were not allowed to live in private houses and shops, and it was strictly forbidden to interfere with the normal operation of the theater and all entertainment venues.
This arrangement was approved by Chairman Mao, and the PLA army marched into the city. So, on May 27, 1949, the day of the complete liberation of Shanghai, the common people opened the door and saw that the streets were full of People's Liberation Army. These young warriors, in order not to disturb the inhabitants, sat on the ground like this. This scene is deeply engraved in the hearts of the people of Shanghai, and they all sigh: The People's Liberation Army is really different!
However, it is clearly unsustainable for this state of affairs to continue, and the fighters are not iron-clad after all. After days of fierce fighting, the young men were exhausted and in desperate need of rest. Therefore, it was decided to mobilize some mansions and mansions to provide temporary resting places for the soldiers, and then to find another place to live when everything was in order. Normally, most of these mansions are left behind by Kuomintang officials, and most of them have long been uninhabited. Therefore, the mobilization of vacant houses went relatively smoothly.
One day, two logistical soldiers found a large mansion on Rue Molière and knocked on the door as usual. However, when they told them what they were coming, the porter coldly replied, "You can't live here!" and the soldiers got into an argument with the porter for no apparent reason.
Soon, a middle-aged woman came downstairs and said to the soldiers downstairs: "I am Soong Ching Ling, this is my mansion!" At that time, 56-year-old Soong Ching Ling had been working in Shanghai for child welfare. As soon as the two soldiers heard that it was Song Qingling's house, they immediately realized that they had caused trouble and hurriedly returned to the headquarters to report.
After returning to the headquarters, they quickly reported the incident to Chen Yi urgently. Chen Yi, who was already busy, was furious when he heard this. He said anxiously:
"Oh, I said you two brothers, Shanghai is so big, what are you doing here with Song Qingling?...... Even if I vacate Chen Yi's office, I can't mobilize her......"
As a veteran, Chen Yi has great respect for Song Qingling. This is not only because she is the widow of Mr. Sun Yat-sen, but more importantly, she has made admirable contributions in the past war of resistance against Japanese aggression and the war of liberation.
After the death of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the ambitions of the reactionaries became clear, and in 1927 they staged the April 12 coup d'état. Soong Ching-ling quickly realized the seriousness of the problem, and without hesitation stood on the side of justice, and severely condemned the actions of the reactionaries. In the years that followed, she relied on her influence at home and abroad to protect many patriots, and raised materials to donate to Yan'an many times. Bethune and other international friends also came to Yan'an under her introduction.
Thinking of this, Chen Yi felt that he had made a big mistake. He hurriedly asked the two fighters, "Have you apologized?" Only then did the two fighters realize that they had only been running back to report at that time, and had forgotten to apologize to Song Qingling.
Hearing this, Chen Yi was even more anxious. He paced back and forth in the room, not knowing what to do about it for a moment.
After thinking about it for a long time, Chen Yi suddenly thought that there was someone who might be able to help him intercede, and that was Chen Geng. Chen Geng and Song Qingling's friendship is very deep, which the old generals, including Chen Yi, know very well.
Soong Ching-ling was 10 years older than Chen Geng, and they had known each other since Mr. Sun Yat-sen was alive. At that time, 21-year-old Chen Geng was admitted to the first phase of the Whampoa Military Academy, and because of his enthusiasm and cheerfulness, coupled with outstanding military talent, he soon became the "celebrity" of the school. Dr. Sun Yat-sen admired this young man from rural Hunan very much and often came to his office to talk. It was at this time that Song Qingling got acquainted with him.
Song Qingling has always been very concerned about the people who are valued by her husband, and Chen Geng is naturally no exception. Later, she learned that Chen Geng participated in the battle against Chen Jiongming, and she felt that her husband's vision was not wrong.
After Chiang Kai-shek launched the April 12 coup d'état in 1927, Chen Geng participated in the Nanchang Uprising with many Whampoa classmates. For Song Qingling, these young people were all excellent seedlings in Sun Yat-sen's mind, and she was always worried about them.
Soon after, Song Qingling's cousin Niu Huilin quietly came to her house and told her the news: Chen Geng was in his orthopedic hospital. Niu Huilin is a famous doctor in Shanghai and Song Qingling's aunt and cousin.
The other day, a young man with a serious leg injury came to the hospital. He was shot three times in his left leg, the tendon of his kneecap was broken, and he was injured to his tibia and fibula. When he first arrived at the hospital, the young man refused to reveal his true identity and name. But Niu Huilin was experienced, and at a glance he knew that he was a Communist Party member who had returned from the battlefield. Under Niu Huilin's detailed questioning, the young man revealed the truth: "I am Chen Geng." ”
After Dr. Niu learned that the young man was Chen Geng, he immediately ran to inform Song Qingling. He did this for two reasons: on the one hand, Shanghai was under the rule of the reactionaries at the time, and he needed to seek Soong Ching-ling's opinion on the matter, and on the other hand, he knew that Soong Ching-ling had always admired Chen Geng very much.
At that time, Chen Geng's leg injury was extremely serious, and according to the usual treatment plan, amputation was an inevitable option. However, Chen Geng firmly disagreed and refused to undergo amputation. After learning of this situation, Song Qingling expressed his concern and personally instructed Niu Huilin: No matter what, Chen Geng's leg must be saved, and he must be cured!
Song Qingling's voice is extremely high, and her speech made Niu Huilin and other medical staff pay special attention to Chen Geng's treatment. Not only that, Song Qingling also instructed the hospital to make every effort to rescue other soldiers of our army like Chen Geng. Under her careful arrangement, Chen Geng's leg miraculously recovered. It can be said that if it were not for Soong Ching-ling's strong help at that time, our army might have lost a founding general.
Subsequently, Song Qingling's concern for Chen Geng became a good story. Therefore, Chen Geng has special respect for this wife. It was precisely because of this relationship that Chen Yi thought of asking Chen Geng to help, because he himself was not very familiar with Song Qingling.
With his mind already decided, Chen Yi quickly sent someone to invite Chen Geng to the municipal party committee and explained the whole thing to him in detail. Chen Yi believes that as an old comrade-in-arms for many years, Chen Geng will definitely not sit idly by. However, unexpectedly, as soon as he heard that he was going to see Song Qingling, Chen Geng frowned, he said:
"There is no doubt that Mrs. Sun cares about me, but as soon as I go, she will definitely ask me how many soldiers I have brought with me, and how do I answer? I have been in Shanghai for several days, but I have not dared to see her because I am worried about this. "
Chen Yi listened to Chen Geng's words and immediately understood that he had concerns in his heart and was embarrassed to see Song Qingling. So, he quickly said: "You said that you brought more than 200,000 soldiers!" It was this sentence that made Chen Geng sigh: "Isn't that bragging?"
In fact, Chen Geng was already the commander-in-chief of the 4th Corps at this time, although the total number of troops led was a little worse, but it was already quite eye-catching among the generals at the same level.
After all, Song Qingling was not a military expert, so why did she care so much about how many soldiers Chen Geng had bringed?
The reason is very simple, because Chen Geng knows that Song Qingling has high hopes for him. As early as 1933, when Soong Qingling successfully rescued Chen Geng from Chiang Kai-shek, Chen Geng already understood this.
In 1933, Chen Geng, Liao Chengzhi and other comrades were arrested one after another for betrayal by traitors. Chiang Kai-shek actually admired Chen Geng a lot, and at first he planned to win over Chen Geng by persuading him to surrender. At the same time, many old classmates from the Whampoa Military Academy also came to visit Chen Geng in the cell.
Chiang Kai-shek saw that Chen Geng still had a high reputation among his own troops, and felt that now was a good time to win him over, so he personally came to visit the prison. Facing the former principal, Chen Geng behaved very calmly and didn't even stand up. On the contrary, Chiang Kai-shek pretended to be cordial and said: "Chen Geng, you have lost weight!"
After Chiang Kai-shek heard this answer, his expression was a little embarrassed, so he said: "The life is ruined, and it is difficult to sleep and eat!" Chen Geng said frankly: "The principal has lost weight, and the world has also lost weight, why is this?" This dialogue obviously made Chiang Kai-shek unable to continue to bow his head, so he had to leave with some displeasure. Although many Whampoa classmates later interceded, Chiang Kai-shek still refused to release Chen Geng. However, because in 1925, when he was still in school, Chen Geng had saved Chiang Kai-shek's life in the Eastern Crusade, so Chiang Kai-shek did not dare to act rashly. If Chen Geng is mercilessly executed, he will inevitably be spurned by the people of the world and become ungrateful.
In late 1933, Song Qingling was very anxious when he learned the news of Chen Geng's arrest. She immediately held an alliance meeting with Cai Yuanpei and others, and decided to use her influence to try to rescue Chen Geng.
Soong Ching-ling showed his clever political skills through the ingenious measures of creating public opinion pressure. A few days later, she further issued a statement called "Letter to the Chinese People," calling on the people of the whole country to unite and demand the release of Chen Geng. At that time, Soong Ching-ling enjoyed high prestige among the democrats, and all localities responded to the solidarity, which brought great pressure to Chiang Kai-shek.
In addition, Soong Ching-ling personally went to Chiang Kai-shek and bluntly warned him that it would be ungrateful to kill Chen Geng. In the end, with the joint efforts of Soong Qingling and others, Chiang Kai-shek had to release him.
After this incident, Chen Geng respected Song Qingling even more. He knew that Soong Ching-ling had very high expectations of him, so when Shanghai was liberated, although he was in awe, he decided to visit Soong Ching-ling, fearing that the troops he brought with him would disappoint her.
When meeting with Song Qingling, Chen Geng faced the problem of troops, although he felt embarrassed, but because of Mr. Chen's personal request, he still decided to go. Soon, Chen Geng appeared in front of Song Qingling.
Five years ago, Song Qingling learned that Chen Geng was injured again, and personally sent medicine to Yan'an. This time, 56-year-old Song Qingling was extremely happy to see him appear in front of him again in good health. For Chen Geng, the wife he hasn't seen for 16 years makes him feel a lot of emotion. He still called Song Qingling "Mrs. with respect", and Song Qingling readily agreed.
The two chatted very speculatively in the ensuing conversation. In the end, Song Qingling mentioned the issue of troops, and she asked Chen Geng: "How many soldiers do you bring?" Chen Geng was worried that she would be disappointed, so he had to reply stubbornly: "More than 200,000." ”
After hearing this, Song Qingling said: "Why are there so few? Lin Biao is from the fourth phase, and he has brought seven or eight hundred thousand soldiers!" Considering that Lin Biao is from the fourth phase of the Whampoa Military Academy, and Chen Geng is his senior, Song Qingling's comparison seems reasonable.
Chen Geng responded calmly: "He is making rapid progress!" In fact, the number of troops he leads does not fully reflect Chen Geng's personal ability. All this has its objective reasons.
First of all, after graduating from the Whampoa Military Academy, Chen Geng did not immediately participate in the frontal battlefield, but followed Zhou Enlai in Shanghai to establish the Central Special Branch.
The Central Special Branch was established in November 1927 and played an important role in that period. Led by Zhou Enlai himself, it consisted of three departments: the General Affairs Section, the Intelligence Section, and the Security Section, and trained many red agents that we later became familiar with. Chen Geng was assigned to be the head of the Intelligence Section, mainly responsible for gathering intelligence and grasping the enemy's situation.
Chen Geng, under the pseudonym Wang Yong, went deep into the streets and alleys of Shanghai, cleverly camouflaged. Sometimes he dressed up as a rich kid in Shanghai and called the children of celebrities, and sometimes he wore a hat and mingled with the gangs on the streets of Shanghai.
In just two years, Chen Geng moved five times, successfully rescued arrested comrades many times, and collected important information. Even during the War of Liberation, his agents continued to play an important role. This Teko experience allowed him to enter the frontal battle later than the other generals.
Secondly, Chen Geng suffered a lot from multiple injuries. The aforementioned wound in 1927 was only one of them, and he was wounded twice later.
When his injuries healed, Chen Geng's military talents became world-renowned. Whether it was during the Long March or the Anti-Japanese War, Chen Geng showed outstanding military talent. In particular, the 386 Brigade under his command once terrified the Japanese army.
Because of this, in 1952, Chairman Mao gave Chen Geng the task of founding the "Kazakhstan Military Industry". Among the 36 military experts selected later, Chen Geng was also among them.
Song Qingling didn't know Chen Geng's experience over the years, so he felt that he had a little less troops, which was also normal. Chen Geng knew that his wife had always cared about him, so he chose to answer lightly and just responded with a smile.
Subsequently, Chen Geng changed the topic and returned to the task assigned by Chen Yi, and talked in detail about the two soldiers who accidentally offended Song Qingling earlier.
Song Qingling is an extremely reasonable person, and he no longer minds those little misunderstandings. After the discussion, she also warmly invited Chen Geng to come to dinner, saying:
"I have dealt with the Communists for more than 20 years, but I don't often entertain them. Tomorrow I will invite you to dinner, and let your wife come with me......"
The wife invited, and Chen Geng agreed as a matter of course. So the next day, Chen Geng, who was neatly dressed, went. The dinner dishes that day were very sumptuous, and Soong Ching-ling specially invited some patriotic and democratic figures to give a warm welcome to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) into Shanghai. However, as he later recalled, he was too nervous to fully enjoy the food and was not able to eat enough.
It wasn't until three years later that Chen Geng returned from the Korean battlefield, and Song Qingling had a thought in his heart, feeling that his meal in Shanghai was not enjoyable. So she invited Chen Geng and his wife to her home again, and specially purchased fresh grapes and custom-made snacks to express her welcome to them.
These details show that Song Qingling, who is nearly sixty years old, regards Chen Geng as his best friend. At the banquet, Soong Ching-ling inquired in detail about his experience on the Korean battlefield. Chen Geng found that whenever he talked about the details of the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country, Song Qingling's eyes always flashed with tears.
After returning home, Chen Geng carefully prepared dozens of battle medals and asked his wife to hand them over to Song Qingling. Song Qingling accepted this precious gift and carefully examined these medals.
Chen Geng and Song Qingling's friendship lasted for many years. As a vice chairman, Soong Ching-ling often travels on behalf of China. She is over 60 years old and has almost no contact with her siblings. Therefore, every time she returns to Beijing from other places, Chen Geng always picks her up at the airport or train station. For Song Qingling in his later years, this is also a kind of comfort.
However, in March 1961, Chen Geng died of a heart attack. Initially, the news was kept secret from Soong Ching Ling. Song Qingling, who was 68 years old at the time, was also in poor health, and people around her were worried that she would not be able to withstand such a blow.
However, in the end, Song Qingling still learned the news and burst into tears. In a letter to his friend Liao Mengxing, Song Qingling wrote sadly: "This blow is really too big, it makes me extremely sad......"
Since then, Song Qingling has always cherished the battle medal presented by Chen Geng, which has become a symbol of her deepest memory for him.
In this issue, we choose to look back at this dusty past for three main reasons:
First of all, everyone usually pays more attention to the humorous side of General Chen Geng, but few people know that in front of his wife Song Qingling, he actually shows a different style. He was always grateful and full of respect for her.
Secondly, some people believe that Chen Geng's military talent is relatively weak, and this article also discusses it in depth through some descriptions.
Third, we hope that readers will understand why Soong Ching Ling is called "Mr.") because she is an upright and resolute woman. Through her many deeds of aiding Chen Geng and others, we can see this, can't we?