Written by Yuan Guoxiang
In the ranks of the Long March of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, it is said that there were three pairs of fathers and sons in the Red Army. Yuan Renyuan, deputy director of the Political Department of the Red Sixth Army, political commissar of the Sixth Division of the Second Army, and political commissar of the 32nd Army of the Second Front Army, and his son Yuan Yifen, a "red ghost" who joined the army in Xiangxi at the age of 17--- are one of them. In the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Yuan Renyuan served as the director of the Political Department of the 359th Brigade, and Yuan Yifen served as the director of the Political Department of the regiment in the 358th Brigade. The father and son both fought and worked in the 120th Division, and both made major contributions to defeating the Japanese invaders and opening up the anti-Japanese base areas in North China.
The troops of the Southern Xinjiang Military Region are an old Red Army unit that came out of Jinggang Mountain, and in order to inherit history and prepare for the establishment of a military history museum, they sent people to visit many revolutionary veterans around 2001. In Beijing, Lieutenant Colonel Wang Zhengong and I also visited Yuan Renyuan's home, but the old chief died of illness as early as 1986, at the age of 88. His eldest son, Yuan Yifen, the former deputy commander of the armored corps, is also 84 years old and received us despite his illness. He said that when his father was alive, he had to take care of his two younger brothers and one younger sister, leaving nothing behind. Even a little savings have been given to others, and once a relative was sent home, he also asked me for food stamps. After his father's death, his younger brother Yuan Yizi took his materials and photos. I'll make a phone call, you can go and ask him! But before leaving, he told him a lot about his father's history, and about his mother. What I remember is that her mother was a textile worker in Changsha, and she went to Yan'an to find her father in 1937. Later, in the large-scale production of Nanniwan, he gave full play to his expertise in weaving, and was rated as one of the three famous model workers. When we went to another naval retreat to look for Senior Colonel Yuan Yizi, he was already waiting for us at the gate. Not only did he enthusiastically provide some data and photos of Yuan Renyuan, but he also gave us an article he wrote in memory of his father. Unfortunately, his eldest brother, General Yuan Yifen, died peacefully on May 29, 2007, at the age of 90. These two fathers and sons of the Red Army, who were famous throughout the army, completed their revolutionary lives and left us with infinite reverie.
Forerunner of the democratic revolution and leader of the armed insurrection
Yuan Renyuan, Han nationality, was born in Cili, Hunan Province in 1898. At the age of 20, he entered the Changsha Political Science and Law School, served as the chairman of the Student Federation, and was an activist of the "May Fourth Movement", an advocate of new culture and new ideas, and fought against imperialism and the Beiyang warlords. In the autumn of 1922, he went to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to teach at the Zun Confucius High School. In the spring of 1925, he returned to China and joined the Communist Party of China in Changsha. In 1926, with the cooperation of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, he also joined the Kuomintang and was ordered to return to his hometown Cili, where he served as a member of the county party committee of the Communist Party of China and an executive member of the county party department of the Kuomintang. Unexpectedly, the Great Revolution failed, the "Ma-Ri Incident" occurred, and at the critical moment when Chiang Kai-shek slaughtered the revolutionary masses, Yuan Renyuan launched an armed uprising in Shimen Nanxiang, resolutely raised a red guerrilla unit, and served as the party representative of the fourth detachment in Xiangxi, waging a desperate struggle against the reactionary military police and the landlord armed forces. At this time, he changed his original name to Yuan Renyuan, which means that the revolutionary task is very heavy and the revolutionary road is tortuous and far away. And with this self-encouragement, he is determined to fight endlessly and dedicate his life to the cause of communism.
At the beginning of 1929, Yuan Renyuan was transferred to Shanghai and served as the secretary of the Red Federation of Trade Unions. Just as he was going deep into the working masses to restore and develop the workers' movement that had been suppressed by Chiang Kai-shek, the Party Central Committee sent him to work in the Li Mingrui Department in Guangxi. As an instructor of the teaching corps, he actively carried out united front work, united and educated many officers and men, supported Li Mingrui in raising events in Longzhou, participated in the Baise Uprising led by Deng Xiaoping and Zhang Yunyi, and achieved outstanding results. Afterwards, he served as the director of the Political Department of the Second Column of the Red Seventh Army and made great contributions to the establishment of the revolutionary base areas in Zuojiang.
Defend the Jinggangshan Revolutionary Soviet Area and create a base area in Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, and Guizhou
In the spring of 1931, the Red Seventh Army shifted its strategy, advanced to the Jinggangshan Revolutionary Base Area, and joined the ranks of the Central Red Army. However, Yuan Renyuan stayed due to illness and successively served as secretary general of the Hunan and Jiangxi Provincial Party Committee, political commissar of the Third Independent Division of Hunan and Jiangxi, acting director of the Political Department of the Eighth Army of the Red Army and director of the Political Department of the First and Third Divisions, political commissar of the 23rd Division, political commissar of the 12th Independent Division, and director of the Political Department of the Sixth Army of the Red Army.
In May 1933, the central government sent Bi Shi to Hunan and Jiangxi to serve as secretary of the provincial party committee and political commissar of the military region. In August 1934, the establishment of the Red Sixth Army was officially announced, with Xiao Ke as the commander, Wang Zhen as the political commissar, Li Da as the chief of staff, Zhang Ziyi as the director of the Political Department, and Yuan Renyuan as the deputy director. Under the leadership of the Military and Political Commission headed by Ren Bishi, in order to cooperate with the Fifth Anti-Encirclement and Suppression Struggle of the Central Red Army, they took the lead in digging out the Jinggangshan area and began the strategic action of the Western Expedition. They set out from Guidong County, rushed to cross the Xiangjiang River, fought fiercely in southern Hunan, interspersed in the encirclement and interception of strong enemies in Hunan, Guangdong, Guizhou, and Guizhou, fought hard for 80 days, and finally fought from western Hunan to eastern Qiandong, broke the enemy's encirclement in Muhuang, Yinjiang County, and joined forces with the Red Third Army led by He Long. In October 1935, Yuan Renyuan was transferred to the 6th Division of the 2nd Red Army (formerly the 3rd Army) as political commissar, and played a major role in restoring the party organization and political work system that had been damaged by the left-leaning line. At this time, he wrote a note and asked someone to take it to Cili's hometown, and found his eldest son, who was wandering away to escape capture from the enemy. 17-year-old Yuan Yifen immediately ran to his father, resolutely joined the army as a "little red ghost", and also began his revolutionary career.
Under the command of the army branch headed by He Long and Ren Bishi, the 2nd and 6th Army Corps joined forces to conquer the east and west, expand the Red Army, and first hit the Xiangxi base area centered on Yongshun and Tawo. Then, he implemented the principle of "dispersing and mobilizing the masses and concentrating on dealing with the enemy," won several victories, and established the Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, and Guizhou revolutionary base areas centered on Dayong and Sangzhi (now Zhangjiajie). Yuan Renyuan's father and son returned to their familiar hometown, and were active in the work of fighting local tyrants, dividing land, carrying out the agrarian revolution, and establishing Soviet power. At that time, not only the leading organs of the provincial party committee, the military region, and the revolutionary committee were established, but also nine county CPC committees and a large number of district party committees and township party branches were established. At the same time, Soviet governments at all levels were formed, and guerrilla units and independent battalions, regiments, and other local armed forces were formed. Poor peasant leagues, chambers of commerce and industry, women's associations, Communist Youth Leagues, children's leagues, and the "Anti-Imperialist and Pro-Soviet League" and other mass organizations have sprung up like mushrooms, staining large areas of land in northwestern Hunan red.
At this time, Yuan Renyuan was also a member of the Hunan-Hubei-Sichuan-Guizhou Revolutionary Committee and the political commissar of the First Army Sub-district. His son Yuan Yifen, "although he was proud of his father, he did not rely on him for food", studied in the advanced training camp, and then went to the Fourth Military Academy of the Red Army as a clerk, and then to the Political Department of the Dayong Military Sub-district as a propagandist. He worked hard for the liberation of the people in his hometown, and he was often welcomed by the masses, and the propaganda effect was good, and he also made contributions to expanding popularity, raising grain, and building a revolutionary political power.
In order to train local cadres and develop revolutionary forces, the Hunan-Hubei-Sichuan-Guizhou Provincial Party Committee established a party school in Tawo with Zhang Ziyi in charge and Wang Enmao as the provost, and trained a large number of Tujia, Miao, Bai, and Han Communist Party members and revolutionary backbones. The Sixth Army Corps of the Red Army also established the Sixth Branch of the Red Army with Wang Zhen as its president and the Red Army University with Xiao Ke as its president, and also divided it into advanced classes and ordinary classes, and successively trained a large number of young cadres who had both actual combat experience and military ethics, which played a great role in strengthening the building of the Red Army and enhancing the combat effectiveness of the troops.
All this made Chiang Kai-shek's heart tremble. He dispatched troops and generals to Guiyang to command, and while encircling the Central Red Army in the Long March, he also launched a frantic attack on the base areas of Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, and Guizhou. At this time, the Zunyi Conference had already been held, and the Central Military Commission represented by Mao Zedong instructed that the Second and Sixth Army Corps should actively prepare for war and hold on to defense. However, the enemy was strong and I was weak, although we won battles such as Chenjiahe and Taozixi, we lost Tawo and Dayong. Later, he reduced his forces, eliminated the 41st Division of the Hubei Army at Zhongbao, captured the division commander Zhang Zhenhan alive, and ambushed the 85th Division of the enemy at Chestnut Garden, killing the division commander Xie Bin. However, the siege of Longshan could not be captured for a long time, and two divisions of the Hunan Army came to reinforce and threatened our Sangzhi leadership organs. Zhang Ziyi, Yuan Renyuan, and others, who were in charge of the rear work, organized the Red Army schools and local armed forces to rise up to resist. The main force of the 2nd and 6th Army Corps waved eastward, successively captured Shimen, Linli, Jinshi, and Lizhou, and approached Changde and Yueyang, threatening the Guangdong-Hankou Railway, and creating a good situation.
Smash the Kuomintang's encirclement and suppression and embark on the Long March
At this time, the Central Red Army had already marched to Tongwei, Gansu, and only the Red Second and Sixth Army Corps south of the Yangtze River were left. Chiang Kai-shek urgently dispatched 22 divisions and 300,000 troops to encircle and suppress. Our army collected grain, rushed to make cotton clothes, expanded the army by more than 6,000 people, raised 140,000 silver dollars, and successfully withdrew to the base area. As a result of the telegram sent by "He Ren" to the Central Committee, it was received by the Red Fourth Front Army. Commander-in-Chief Zhu De and General Political Commissar Zhang Guotao telegraphed, asking "King He Ren Guan Xia Xiao" to break through the Long March and approach them in the event of a failed counterattack. At that time, everyone was very happy and thought that this was the instruction of the central authorities. Therefore, on November 19, 1935, the Red Sixth Army held a swearing-in meeting at the Sangzhi Maple Tower and issued an order to break through. In addition to leaving the 18th Division to hold on to contain the enemy on the spot, the 16th Division, the 17th Division, the Teaching Regiment, the 4th, 5th, and 6th Divisions of the 2nd Red Army Corps, and the accompanying camp school, broke out of the encirclement together and advanced in the direction of Guizhou. When they fought many times in the south and then in the north, seized the road and grabbed the crossing, threw off the enemy, and occupied the mouth of the Qiandong River and Shiqian, the 18th Division also fought from the north and then the south, from the Qianjiang River in Sichuan to Youyang in Guizhou, and then made a detour to join the main division. This indicates that the breakthrough mission of the 2nd and 6th Army Corps' Long March has been successfully completed.
The Red Army approached the Wujiang River and threatened Guiyang and Zunyi, and Chiang Kai-shek urgently ordered several large armies to be tightly fortified. However, the Second and Sixth Army Corps bypassed Guiyang, rushed across the Wujiang River from the upper reaches, and made great strides to occupy Qianxi and other counties. And there opened up the Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou revolutionary base areas centered on Dading and Bijie. At that time, under the contact of Deng Zhige, the leader of the underground party of the Communist Party of China, the local anti-Chiang armed forces Xi Daming and Zhou Zhifu responded to our army to occupy Bijie City. Zhou Suyuan, a veteran of the Xinhai Revolution and former executive premier of the Guizhou Military Government, was also invited to join the "Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army." This patriotic old gentleman, who had studied Marxism, not only served as a commander, but also went to Yan'an with our army on the Long March. Deng Zhige served as chief of staff, and there were three detachments: Xi Daming's department was the first detachment, Zhou Zhifu's department was the second detachment, and a guerrilla unit left by the Central Red Army was organized into the third detachment, with Ruan Junchen as the commander, and the Red Sixth Army Corps also sent Li Guangqing, Liao Ming, and Ouyang Chongting to serve as the political commissars of the detachment.
The 2nd and 6th Army Corps fought in western Qianxi on the one hand, and on the other hand, organized small detachments to go deep into ethnic villages, propagated the party's policies, mobilized the masses to fight local tyrants and share floating wealth, established a revolutionary regime, and also raised food and funds to mobilize young people to join the army. In less than a month, our army has expanded by more than 5,000 people, and its financial and material resources have also been greatly supplemented. Wang Zhen also personally talked with the Miao representatives, sent guns, sent cadres, and formed an independent Miao regiment. Xia Xi, who was the director of the Political Department of the Sixth Army Corps at the time, also drowned in the Qixing River because of the formation of an anti-Japanese government and the work of going deep into the masses. Yuan Renyuan, the political commissar of the Sixth Division, not only did a good job in the political work of marching and fighting, but also participated in the work of mobilizing the masses, organizing the anti-Japanese armed forces, and building political power. Although many comrades died heroically in the aftermath of the repeated elimination of these revolutionary sparks organized and established by them, there was still a sixth detachment that persisted in carrying out armed struggle in the mountainous areas of Guizhou until the liberation of Guizhou in the autumn of 1949, when they cooperated with the People's Liberation Army and marched into Bijie City again.
Chiang Kai-shek flew to Guiyang again and mobilized the Guizhou-Yunnan-Sichuan Army and the Central Army to besiege our Second and Sixth Army Corps. On March 1, 1936, the Sichuan-Yunnan-Guizhou Provincial Party Committee and the Military Branch held a meeting in Yemachuan, and decided that our army would move into the Wumeng Mountains and maneuver with the enemy on the Yunnan-Guizhou border, where the mountains were high and the valleys were deep. Although he fought the Ambush Battle of the Yize River and the Hutou Mountain Attack and eliminated some enemies there, he failed to enter Xuanwei and gained a foothold in Panxian. At this time, "Zhu Zhang" called and said that they had entered Ganzi and asked the Second and Sixth Army Corps to "cross the Pudu River north through Kunming, strive to cross the Jinsha River north in Yuanmou, and advance north through Huaping Yongbei." Therefore, King He Ren Guan Xiao had an urgent meeting and decided to avoid the strong enemy of Yuanmou, go south to western Yunnan, and coerce Kunming, which once made the Yunnan warlord Long Yun frightened and urgently transferred the military academy to defend the city. On the way to the army, the 17th Division first failed to attack the chain bridge over the Pudu River, but destroyed more than 1,000 enemies; the 4th Division made a feint and crossed from the downstream, but failed to occupy a foothold. Guo Peng, commander of the 6th Division, led the 6th and 5th Divisions to fight hard in Liujia, defeated the defenders of a brigade, killed and wounded more than 400 people, and opened the way forward.
After conquering Fumin County and wading through the Pudu River, the Red Second and Sixth Army Corps quickly got rid of the enemy and quickly went north, arrived at Shigu Ferry, and crossed the Jinsha River at the end of April 1936 by relying on a few small boats and rafts tied by the local people. Then climb over the 5,000-meter Snow Mountain, come to Zhongdian County (now known as the world's fairyland "Shangri-La"), after a short rest, then move towards Ganzi. When they crossed two more snow-capped mountains, conquered Lihua, and joined forces with the 32nd Army that was heading south in Zhanhua, everyone was very happy.
On 22 June, the 2nd and 6th Army Corps arrived at Puyulong and were warmly welcomed by Liu Bocheng, chief of staff of the Red Army, and representatives of various units of the Fourth Front Army. Only then did they realize that Zhang Guotao had made a serious mistake in setting up a separate central committee and engaging in sectarianism. On July 1, the Fourth Front Army and the Second and Sixth Army Corps held a meeting in Ganzi. Commander-in-Chief Zhu called on the two armies to unite and strive to continue northward and join forces with the Central Red Army. On 5 July, the Central Military Commission sent a telegram order: The Second and Sixth Army Corps and the 32nd Army formed the Red Second Front Army, with He Long as commander-in-chief and commander of the Second Army Corps, Ren Bi as political commissar at the time, Xiao Ke as deputy commander-in-chief, Guan Xiang as deputy political commissar and political commissar of the Second Army Corps, Chen Bojun as corps commander and Wang Zhen as political commissar of the Red Sixth Army Corps, and Luo Binhui as commander and Yuan Renyuan as political commissar of the 32nd Army. In this way, He, Ren, Guan, Xiao, Wang Zhen, and Yuan Renyuan, together with Zhu De, Liu Bocheng, Xu Xiangqian, and others, resolutely opposed Zhang Guotao's erroneous line, and forced him and Chen Changhao to agree to the Long March north. In this way, after climbing snow-capped mountains, crossing grasslands, arduous marching, and many battles, it was only after reaching Gansu and Huining that it completed the Long March in October 1936 and achieved the victory of the three major Red Army divisions.
On the Long March, Yuan Renyuan's father and son had their own tasks and rarely saw each other. After Yuan Renyuan became the political commissar of the Sixth Division, he not only had to go down to the grassroots level, straighten out the troops, register old party members, recruit new party members, restore the political work system of the Red Army, and eliminate the serious consequences left by Xia Xi's suppression and expansion of the rebellion. In addition, while cooperating with Division Commander Guo Peng, while commanding the battle to break the enemy, he also had to take part in local work, propagandize the masses along the way, raise food and funds, and expand the Red Army. At the grim moment of running out of food in the grassland, it was difficult for the 32nd Army, which was at the end, to find even edible weeds, but Yuan Renyuan always set an example and encouraged everyone to overcome difficulties with ideas, and finally brought the hungry troops safely to northern Shaanxi.
As for his son Yuan Yifen, as he grew older and more educated, he performed well in the Propaganda Section of the Dayong Military Division, and joined the Communist Party of China in November 1935. Before the start of the Long March, he served as the director of the club in the 10th and 12th regiments of the 4th Division, and played a great role in enlivening the cultural life of the troops and boosting the morale of officers and men. In August 1936, after a long journey and countless combat tests, Yuan Yifen was transferred to the Political Department of the Front Army as a propaganda officer when the Red Second Front Army was established. Like his father, he climbed snow-capped mountains, walked on grasslands, ate grass roots, gnawed tree bark, went through hardships and dangers, and participated in many battles until he reached northern Shaanxi, completed the glorious task of the Long March, and he was also trained to become an excellent Red Army cadre.
He went out to North China to fight against the Japanese and governed Suide as a commissioner
In the winter of 1936, the "Xi'an Incident" led to the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. In the summer of 1937, the Anti-Japanese War broke out, and the Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army and sent to the anti-Japanese front. The Red Second Front Army was organized into the 120th Division, with division commander He Long, deputy division commander Xiao Ke, and director of the Political Training Office Guan Xiangying, who was changed to political commissar a month later, and Gan Siqi was appointed director of the Political Department. The 2nd Red Army Corps was organized into the 358th Brigade, with brigade commander Zhang Zongxun, and the 6th Red Army Corps was organized into the 359th Brigade, with brigade commander Chen Bojun leading the 718th Regiment to stay in northern Shaanxi. One month later, Wang Zhen, deputy brigade commander, was reappointed brigade commander and political commissar, and Yuan Renyuan, director of the Political Department, led the 717th Regiment to cross the Yellow River eastward, galloped through the vast areas of Shanxi, Chahar, and Hebei, and waged a guerrilla war against the Japanese invaders. In the autumn of 1937, while participating in the Xinkou Campaign and opening up base areas behind enemy lines, the 359th Brigade extensively mobilized the masses to resist Japan and constantly strengthened itself. A part of the cadres and fighters led by Liu Daosheng and Chen Zongyao went to western Hebei to bring back a "Pingshan Regiment" of more than 2,000 people, which was soon organized into the 718th Regiment. A "Laoxian regiment" pulled up by He Qingji and others from the northwest of Shanxi Province was organized into the 719th Regiment. Zeng Di led the brigade and cultural work team and incorporated the company to go to various counties in southwest Shanxi Province to propagate the anti-Japanese resistance, and brought back a 3,500-strong "waiting horse regiment", except for the 6 companies of the 115th Division, the rest of the recruits were supplemented into 3 regiments and various units directly under the brigade. In this way, the 359th Brigade rapidly grew from 3,000 people when it crossed the Yellow River to more than 11,000 people. They attacked the Tongpu Railway, ambushed the Japanese convoy, surrounded and annihilated the enemy defending at Qilan, annihilated the Japanese army in Wuzhai, liberated the county town of Ningwu, and opened up a base area in the northwest of Shanxi. Then he fought on both sides of the Sanggan River, the Wutai Mountain area and the Jizhong Plain, and successively fought the Lingqiu Blocking Battle, the Shaojiazhuang Ambush Battle, the Upper and Lower Waist Stream Annihilation Battle, and the recovery of Fuping, Zuoxincun, Chenzhuang and other battles, which made a major contribution to smashing the Japanese army and consolidating the Jinchaji anti-Japanese base area.
During the three-year anti-Japanese war in North China, Director Yuan Renyuan, as the main assistant to General Wang Zhen, handled everything meticulously, took charge of political work alone, and played a huge role in obscurity. His son Yuan Yifen was also active in the anti-Japanese battlefield. After the reorganization of the Red Army, he served as an instructor of the first company of the 20th Division Teaching Regiment, and after returning from his studies at Kang University, he served as the secretary of the general branch of the 358th Brigade Teaching Brigade. On the battlefield in North China, he served as deputy director and director of the Political Department of the 714th Regiment, and in many anti-sweeps and the "Battle of the Hundred Regiments", he took the lead, charged into battle, fought to the death against the Japanese invaders, and deserved to be called an anti-Japanese hero. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Yuan Yifen served as the deputy political commissar of the Second Regiment of the First Independent Brigade of the Jinsui Field Army, the political commissar of the Seventh Regiment of the Suimeng Military Region, and the director of the Political Department of the Eleventh Army Division. He resolutely implemented the principles and policies of the central authorities, participated in the victory of the Suimeng Campaign, victoriously completed the task of fighting against the diehards on the northern and southern fronts, and effectively consolidated and expanded the Jinsui revolutionary base area.
In the winter of 1939, the Kuomintang launched an anti-communist upsurge. Chairman Mao gave an order, and the 359th Brigade returned to northern Shaanxi. Director Yuan Renyuan, Brigade Commander Wang Zhen, and Deputy Brigade Commander Guo Peng brought back five large regiments, and while guarding the Suide River defense and repelling the Japanese attack, they also launched an anti-stubborn struggle and consolidated the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo border region. Then the development of Nanniwan created a miracle of the army's participation in production, which not only alleviated Chiang Kai-shek's conspiracy to blockade the border areas, but also achieved abundant food and clothing, strong soldiers and horses, and could be put into the anti-Japanese battlefield at any time. However, Yuan Renyuan did not work in Nanniwan for long, he was transferred back to the Suide area, transferred to local work, and also became a commissioner of the "three-three system" democratic government.
The five counties in the Suide region were originally scheduled to be under the jurisdiction of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo Border District Government, but Chiang Kai-shek did not pay attention to faithfulness and sent a commissioner, He Shaonan, to make trouble. He set up Kuomintang headquarters everywhere, set up security teams, and was unwilling to provide food for the 359th Brigade, so he also gathered 13 security teams to plot to attack our brigade headquarters. For this reason, General Wang Zhen exposed his conspiracy to sabotage the anti-Japanese resistance at a public rally, while Yuan Renyuan disseminated the accusations of corruption and arson against him by the masses in various counties. He Shaonan had a bad reputation and ran back to Xi'an. Later, he sneaked back to Suide and launched an armed rebellion, and after being discovered and cleared by our army, he fled again. At that time, Deputy Brigade Commander Guo Peng was playing chess, and the arrest was not timely. Wang Zhen was angry about this and criticized him harshly. When Chairman Mao found out, he said, "Don't criticize Guo Peng, He Shaonan ran away! You caught him, what should Chiang Kai-shek do if he asks us for people?" So, in the name of Lin Boqu, chairman of the border district government, and Xiao Jinguang, commander of the left-behind corps, he sent a telegram to the highest authorities and demanded that He Shaonan be arrested and handed over to the people for public trial. However, Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram to Mao Zedong saying: "Wang Zhen undermined the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, and should be punished by military discipline and national law." Mao Zedong sent a telegram back to Chiang: "General Wang Zhen has made meritorious contributions to the resistance against Japan, and I ask the chairman of the committee to send an order to commend him." In this way, the friction commissioner He Shaonan was squeezed away by Brigade Commander Wang Zhen. Then a meeting of people's representatives from all walks of life in Suide was convened, and a democratic government of the "three-three system" was elected, and everyone elected Wang Zhen as commissioner, and Li Dingming and other democratic progressives as senators. Then the Suide Prefectural Committee of the Communist Party of China was established, with Wang Zhen and Zhang Xiushan as the principal and deputy secretaries. Since then, the Suide area has truly become a part of the border region and has played a major role in safeguarding the security of Yan'an and the Party Central Committee.
In the spring of 1941, the 359th Brigade was ordered to be stationed in Nanniwan, while countering the Kuomintang's attack, and launching a large-scale production movement on the other. When Wang Zhen left Suide to serve as the commander of the garrison in Yan'an, he handed over the work there to his old comrade-in-arms Yuan Renyuan. Yuan Renyuan was familiar with the situation and served as a commissioner, taking on the task of managing a large area of newly liberated areas in Suide, Mizhi, Jiaxian, Wubao, and Qingjian. Suide is located on the main transportation road on the bank of the Yellow River, and the Kuomintang once seized on it, harmed the masses, and trapped our border area. Now that it is back in the hands of the people, it is necessary to strengthen governance, recuperate, and build a reliable anti-Japanese rear. Yuan Renyuan went deep into the masses, toiled day and night, and quickly eliminated bandits, stabilized society, developed production, and supported the front line. It also established party organizations and people's political power at the county, district, and township levels, thus laying a solid mass foundation for the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the subsequent war of liberation.
The construction of the northeast base area and the liberation of the whole country have made great contributions
In the summer of 1945, Yuan Renyuan attended the Seventh Congress of the Communist Party of China. At that time, the first advance detachment of the 359th Brigade to resist Japan in the south had arrived in Hunan under the leadership of Wang Zhen. Yuan Renyuan was anxious and also asked to go south to resist Japan. When the second echelon departed, he was ordered to accompany him. They followed the footsteps of the advance echelon, crossed the Yellow River twice, and when they reached Henan, Japan surrendered. Yuan Renyuan and the second echelon were ordered to advance to the northeast. They worked hard, traveled long distances, walked through the Shanhai Pass, and after arriving in the northeast, they took part in the struggle to open up the North Manchurian base area. The 359th Brigade is a unit capable of recruiting and fighting well, and it first shoulders the heavy task of suppressing bandits. In the Jiamusi and Mudanjiang areas, they swept away political bandits of all sizes, such as the "advance army" and the "recovery team". He also captured alive the Kuomintang General Commander Xie Wendong, shot him in public trial, and hung his head in public display, which greatly deterred the enemy, boosted the confidence of the masses, and enabled the situation in North Manchuria to quickly improve, which was conducive to our army to carry out its work and build and consolidate the revolutionary power.
At this time, Yuan Renyuan successively served as secretary general and vice chairman of the Jilin Provincial Government, and in addition to cooperating with the troops to suppress bandits and stabilize social order, he vigorously promoted land reform. A large number of working groups were sent to the countryside to mobilize the poor peasants to turn over, smash the feudal chains, and establish people's power. Zhou Libo, who used to be Wang Zhen's secretary, wrote "The Storm", which is a vivid embodiment of that work. What followed was the grand occasion of young people joining the army, the masses sending food, and fiery support for the overthrow of Chiang Kai-shek. The 359th Brigade went to the front again, went to the south of the Yangtze River three times, protected the Linjiang River three times, fought a bloody battle on Siping Street, besieged Changchun City, and soon developed into the 139th Division. After the liberation of Changchun in 1948, he fought the famous Black Mountain Resistance Battle, and made great achievements in the complete victory of the Liaoshen Campaign. Later, it was expanded into the 47th Army, entered the customs to participate in the Pingjin Campaign and the Battle of Crossing the River, and after liberating South China, it took on the important task of suppressing bandits in Xiangxi. In August 1949, Hunan Cheng Qian and Chen Mingren announced a peaceful uprising, and the central government sent Yuan Renyuan south to become the vice chairman of the Hunan Provincial Government. Together with his old comrades-in-arms of the 47th Army, he took the heavy responsibility of cleaning up the mess after the war and governing his hometown on his shoulders.
In the more than three years of the Liberation War, Yuan Yifen completed the same tasks as his father, but he was still in North China and Northwest China. After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the development of our army, Yuan Yifen served as the political commissar of the Seventh Regiment of the Suimeng Military Region, and later was promoted to director of the Political Department of the 11th Army Division. At the beginning of 1947, when the Kuomintang 250,000 horses attacked Yan'an, Yuan Yifen returned to the first column of the Jinsui Military Region, which was developed from the 358th Brigade, and went to northern Shaanxi to defend Chairman Mao and the Party Central Committee. In 1948, he served as the deputy director of the Political Department of the Second Division of the First Army, and then served as the political commissar of the Seventh Regiment of the Third Division. Until the army marched westward, liberated Gansu and Qinghai, and fought a People's Republic of China.
Father and son are both pillars of the country, rich and strong army, dedicated their lives
Yuan Renyuan has been in Hunan for 4 years and has made outstanding achievements. In the spring of 1954, when he went to the State Council to serve as vice minister of the interior, he happened to be the deputy head of the Xinjiang branch of the National People's Condolence Group. He excitedly came to Xinjiang to carry out condolence activities, especially when he arrived in Kashgar, and when he met with his old comrades-in-arms Guo Peng, Zeng Di, Zuo Qi, and Zhu Jiasheng, who had been separated for 10 years, they hugged each other and wept with joy. I captured these scenes, and they are still very intimate and touching to look at today. Yuan Lao was plainly dressed and approachable. He was warmly welcomed by his veteran subordinates when he attended a condolence meeting and sent commemorative medals, towels, tea jars, and other condolences to the troops, and when he convened a forum with heroic and model figures and demanded that the glorious traditions of the Red Army be carried forward. In addition, he visited the company to see the lives of the fighters and also visited our Political Department. When he learned that some female comrades had joined the army from Hunan two years ago, he cordially inquired about them, and encouraged everyone to feel at ease in the frontier and do a good job in the tone of an old-timer in his hometown. Before leaving, he shook hands with us one by one and took a group photo. As for the "Xiangyu Opera Society" he brought, he performed "Mulan" and other Henan operas for the troops, which were warmly welcomed by the officers and soldiers.
In 1958, Yuan Renyuan went to Qinghai to serve as secretary of the provincial party committee and governor. Because he was upright, sought truth from facts, and dared to resist the exaggerated style, he was regarded as "right-leaning" and let him sit on the cold bench. During the Cultural Revolution, because he hated Lin Biao's perverse behavior of the "Gang of Four", he was confiscated, placed under house arrest, and exiled. At the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, he was elected deputy secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. In 1982, he was elected a member of the Central Advisory Committee at the 12th Party Congress. Prior to this, Yuan Renyuan was elected as a member of the Standing Committee of the Fourth Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the Standing Committee of the Fifth National People's Congress.
Yuan Renyuan was a respected veteran comrade who participated in the revolution for 60 years, was loyal to the party, hated the enemy as if he were evil, and served the people wholeheartedly. During the war years, he was often in the line of fire, born and died, did not avoid hardships and dangers, and fought bravely. In the era of peace, he competed in the industry, worked hard, adhered to the party's principles, and was fair and upright. He was honest and honest, lived a simple life, did not care about personal gains and losses and material treatment, and set strict demands on his children and grandchildren, teaching them to study hard and work hard. Until he died of illness at the age of 88, he did not leave any savings or property. What he left behind was a "Journey Chronicle", a revolutionary memoir he wrote in his later years.
In 1950, Yuan Yifen, who was in his prime, responded to Chairman Mao's call to "build a strong navy" and was transferred from the army to the political commissar of the first branch of the navy. Since then, he has worked hard to learn naval knowledge, explore experience in running schools, train management talents, and devote himself wholeheartedly to the cause of building the motherland's coastal defense. In 1954, he went to study at the Voroshilov Naval School in the Soviet Union, overcame the difficulties of old age, cultural background and language barriers, and completed the study task with excellent results. After returning to China, he successively served as political commissar of the Zhanjiang base of the South China Sea Fleet, commander and political commissar of the Yulin base, and deputy commander of the Hainan Military Region. He applied the knowledge he had learned abroad to the practice of naval construction, and made a major contribution to consolidating the mainland's coastal defense and enhancing the combat effectiveness of the troops.
Yuan Yifen was a veteran Red Army soldier who worked hard, and he brought Chairman Mao's teaching of "do it yourself, have enough food and clothing" and the "spirit of Nanniwan" to Yulin at the ends of the earth. He worked hard there for ten years, overcoming the difficulties of lack of fresh water, food, cultural facilities and long-term separation from his family, leading by example, taking the lead in labor, planting a large number of trees, planting vegetables and raising pigs, not only building the base into an excellent military port at a small price, but also turning the desert island into a warm garden. During this period, he also resolutely carried out the instructions of the Central Military Commission and the Navy, and according to the time and situation, he commanded the fleet to win the "8.6 Naval Battle," which boosted the military prestige, boosted morale, and encouraged the people of the whole country. However, during the Cultural Revolution, he was falsely accused by the Lin Biao clique of "making a serious mistake in direction and line". In the midst of difficult circumstances, he firmly believed in the party and the people and maintained optimism.
In the autumn of 1969, he was transferred to the post of political commissar of the Seventh Research Institute of the Ministry of National Defense, where he still adhered to the principles of party spirit, withstood heavy pressure, boldly liberated a group of intellectuals and cadres, protected talents for the development of the mainland's ship science and technology, and made meritorious contributions. In 1974, with the issuance of two documents revoking the erroneous instructions against Yuan Yifen, he became an adviser to the Political Department of the Navy. In 1977, he was transferred to the political commissar of the Naval Equipment Technology Department, and he was happy to do this practical job that allowed him to make use of his expertise, regardless of his position. Sure enough, he vigorously and boldly set things right, eliminated the erroneous influence of the Cultural Revolution, straightened out work relations, and vigorously grasped grassroots construction, thus providing an ideological, style, organizational, and institutional guarantee for speeding up the development of the naval armament industry, and winning the respect and praise of the vast number of officers and men.
Yuan Yifen was awarded the rank of colonel in 1955 and promoted to major general in 1964. He was awarded the Order of Eighty-One of the Second Class, the Order of Independence and Freedom of the First Class, the Order of Liberation of the First Class, and in 1988 he was awarded the Order of Merit of the First Class. In his more than 70 years of military career, he has always maintained his true character of forging ahead courageously and fighting ceaselessly, and devoted his whole life to the cause of the liberation of the Chinese people and the construction of the mainland navy. He is diligent and studious, open-minded, modest and prudent, attaches importance to unity, is loyal, indifferent to fame and fortune, strict in discipline, and upright. He died of illness at the age of 90 and was deeply remembered and mourned by the navy, his old comrades-in-arms, and the masses on Hainan Island and other places where he fought.
Yuan Renyuan and Yuan Yifen, father and son of the Red Army, two general stars, crossed the brilliant sky of China's revolutionary history and became people's eternal memory. Yuan Renyuan is as famous as his person, and he has completed the revolutionary task of his life's struggle. And Yuan Yifen is also like his name, he is high-spirited, hard work, and has completed his brilliant life. When his father and son walked hand in hand to report to Marx, the bearded old man would happily say that you are worthy of being a revolutionary father and son, and you have dedicated your whole life to the great cause of the world's proletarian eunuchs--- communism.