In 1975, Huang Wei, a Kuomintang lieutenant general who had been stubborn and refused to surrender in the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, was pardoned after 27 years of war criminal reform. What's even more unexpected is that Huang Wei died in 1989 and was buried in Babaoshan Cemetery.
You must know that Babaoshan is buried all people who have made meritorious contributions to the country, as a general who once swore allegiance to Chiang Kai-shek and fought fiercely against the communist army on the battlefield, why was he able to receive such an honor? Today, let's talk about the story.
Huang Wei's military career
Huang Wei, formerly known as Huang Bingwei, was born in 1898 in an ordinary family in Hefei, Anhui Province.
In 1924, 26-year-old Huang Wei, with the help of fellow countryman Fang Zhimin, applied for the Whampoa Military Academy and was successfully admitted, starting his military career.
At the Whampoa Military Academy, Huang Wei trained hard, strictly abided by discipline, and not only studied various military theories, but also took an active part in various actual combat exercises.
Especially in shooting and tactical drills, he performed particularly well and was unanimously recognized by the instructors.
Huang Wei's courage and fearlessness soon stood out and was appointed platoon commander, and in 1926, the National Revolutionary Army went out of the Northern Expedition and was also appointed as the battalion commander.
In the face of the severe situation of the Northern Expedition, he showed extremely high military talent and command ability, and led his troops to fight bravely in the fierce battle with Sun Chuanfang, and finally won the victory; In the Battle of Longtan, he took the lead and led the troops to victory in one fell swoop, making important contributions to the Northern Expedition of the National Revolutionary Army.
In 1936, Huang Wei was selected by the Nationalist Government to go to the German Army University for further study, where he systematically studied advanced military theories and tactics and understood the operation of modern warfare.
At the same time, he also established extensive contacts with people in the German military circles, and broadened his horizons and gained a deeper understanding of modern warfare.
A year later, the "77 Incident" broke out, and the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was in full swing, and Huang Wei resolutely interrupted his studies in Germany and returned to China to join the Anti-Japanese War.
Huang Wei's personality is biased towards "Confucianism", and he does things without losing his gentlemanly demeanor. However, "conformism" and "old-fashioned superstition" are also described as "nerds", but in the first battle after returning home, they played the steely momentum of soldiers.
After the start of Japan's full-scale invasion of China, it clamored for the destruction of China in three months, and then the army marched south to Shanghai, Nanjing, etc. Under such circumstances, Huang Wei was appointed commander of the 67th Division and led his troops to participate in the Battle of Songhu.
This battle was the first full-scale battle between China and Japan, and the 67th Division led by Huang Wei was sent to Luodian to take up defensive tasks. From God's point of view, Luodian was an important transportation hub in Shanghai, and it was also a key target of the Japanese army's attack.
On August 27, the Japanese army launched a fierce attack, and the commander of the 67th Division, Li Shusen, was seriously wounded and fell in the battle, and Huang Wei was ordered to take over the position of division commander. He quickly organized his troops to launch a counterattack, and the Japanese firepower was unusually strong, and the 67th Division suffered heavy losses.
As it was at the time, new troops should have come to take over the defensive duties, or they should have retreated with the superiors in Nanking.
Huang Wei believed that only by coexisting with the position could the Japanese offensive be contained, and ordered the whole division to hold the position and not take a step back.
As the saying goes, "one person will be a nest", Huang Wei's determination invisibly inspired the soldiers of the 67th Division, and in the face of the fierce artillery fire and repeated attacks of the Japanese army, they were not afraid to fight to the death against the enemy.
In the half month of the battle of Luodian, the 67th Division led by Huang Wei was almost completely annihilated, but they successfully dragged the Japanese attack and broke the arrogance of Japan's "three months to destroy China".
According to post-war statistics, the last living people of the 67th Division could not even make up a regiment, and the Luodian battlefield was also "flesh mill". Huang Wei was known as the "hard-headed general" because of his outstanding performance, and since then he has risen in the national army.
After the Battle of Songhu, Huang Wei continued to be active in various battlefields of the War of Resistance against Japan, in 1939, the Japanese invaded Vietnam, in a vain attempt to cut off the material communication line of Yunnan and Burma on the mainland, Huang Wei and the commander of the 54th Army led the troops to stick to the mountains of Yunnan, making it impossible for the Japanese army to move forward.
In general, in the War of Resistance Against Japan, Huang Wei led his troops to fight the Japanese army many times with his outstanding military talent and strong will, and achieved brilliant results.
He always stood on the front line of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, fought fierce battles with the Japanese army, dealt heavy blows to the enemy, and not only won the recognition of the top level of the Nationalist Government, but also won the respect of the majority of soldiers, and became a legendary general in the Chinese army.
From anti-Japanese heroes to die-hard war criminals
However, Huang Wei's brilliant record did not hide his mistakes in other wars.
In the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, Huang Wei became an important general of Chiang Kai-shek, actively participated in the encirclement and suppression of the Communist Party, and also carried out a brutal purge of the Red Army in the third "encirclement and suppression", resulting in the almost total annihilation of the Red Army in southwest Zhejiang.
After the end of the Sino-Japanese War, Huang Wei continued to serve in the national army and participated in the war of liberation under the command of Chiang Kai-shek.
Perhaps because he has been influenced by Chiang Kai-shek's ideas for many years, Huang Wei has always maintained his loyalty to Chiang Kai-shek, and has never wavered in his position even when the situation is extremely unfavorable.
There is no problem with this kind of absolute loyalty to the superiors and adherence to the integrity of the soldiers, but it is a fact that he has become an accomplice in the civil war in disregard of the will of the people, and has continuously encircled and suppressed the PLA in the Central Plains.
The ancients said that "those who win the hearts of the people win the world", and it is inevitable that Chiang Kai-shek will lose the hearts of the people and eventually lose the world. The victory of the Liaoshen Campaign enabled the People's Liberation Army to gradually seize the initiative in the Liberation War, and then the Huaihai Campaign and the Pingjin Campaign broke out.
In 1948, the 12th Corps led by Huang Wei was besieged in the Huaihai Campaign, and was still unwilling to surrender in the face of the heavy encirclement of the People's Liberation Army, trying to achieve a breakthrough through stubborn resistance.
The reality was that his corps was gradually compressed, the food and ammunition were exhausted, the soldiers were demoralized, and finally the whole army was wiped out. After Huang Wei was captured, he did not accept the transformation as well as Du Yuming and others, but showed a strong sense of resistance.
After being captured, Huang Wei was sent to the Fushun War Criminals Management Center, where he began a 27-year career of reform, where he was strongly resistant to the policies of the Communist Party and New China in the early days of the management center, and even made reactionary remarks in public on many occasions.
For a long time, his performance was a great headache for the staff of the management center, after all, the reform policy of the management center was to make war criminals realize their mistakes and eventually return to society through labor and ideological education.
However, Huang Wei did not cooperate with these transformation activities, refused to participate in labor, refused to accept ideological education, and often had disputes with management personnel, so that the progress of transformation was very slow.
Despite this, the management office did not give up the transformation of Huang Wei, and adopted a patient education method for him, trying to change his thinking through constant exchanges and communication.
Many years later, Huang Wei recalled these things and said: Director Jin was born as a red ghost, but he wasted his youth on us meaningless people.
Huang Wei's physical condition gradually deteriorated during the renovation of the management center, and the management center provided him with adequate medical protection to ensure that he could undergo the transformation in a healthy condition.
However, Huang Wei was not grateful for this, took everything for granted, and still maintained a stubborn attitude. In 1975, Chairman Mao instructed leniency for war criminals, emphasizing that everyone has citizenship rights and that forced reform is bad.
Under the guidance of this policy, Huang Wei was pardoned and regained his freedom, and it was at this time that he realized his mistake.
At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were many wastes waiting to be rebuilt, but Huang Wei's table would have milk, eggs and meat every day, even in the most difficult three years, mainly because of his poor health.
Later, ordinary pork was changed to beef, and finally to more yellow mutton, and the management personnel suffered from widespread puffiness due to lack of nutrition.
After Huang Wei's pardon, he was very moved to learn of these things, and he slowly recognized New China and began to reflect on what he had done in the past.
He was eventually buried in Babao Mountain
Since then, Huang Wei began to participate in some social activities and gradually integrated into the social life of New China.
He also actively participated in various forums, shared his experiences and experiences, and expressed his gratitude to the Communist Party and his recognition of New China on many public occasions.
Although the ideological transformation is still not complete, its actions have already shown that it has gradually accepted the reality of New China and is willing to make its own contribution to society.
In 1983, Huang Wei attended the Sixth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and was elected as a member of the Standing Committee. On the issue of Taiwan and the mainland, he wrote letters to his old friends many times, hoping that the two sides of the strait would be able to achieve reunification.
"Pray for the reunification of the motherland, people will be of the same mind, and if reunification is realized at an early date, I should personally go to Taiwan to have a drink and talk with you."
In 1989, Chiang Kai-shek had died, and a certain degree of cross-strait exchanges had been achieved, Huang Wei received an invitation from a friend to go to Taiwan, but unfortunately died of a sudden heart attack before departure, and was buried in Babaoshan Cemetery.
This move has aroused widespread concern and discussion from all walks of life, and as a former senior general of the Nationalist army, his burial place should have been Taiwan or elsewhere, not the Babaoshan Cemetery in Beijing.
However, Huang Wei's actions in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression are obvious to all, and after the amnesty, he also realized his mistakes, and even has been working hard for Taiwan's return.
Babaoshan Cemetery is the revolutionary cemetery of New China, where many revolutionary ancestors who have made great contributions to the country and the nation are buried.
Huang Wei may be on the wrong side in the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, but his heroic performance in the War of Resistance against Japan is real, and these actions should not be erased.
In general, Huang Wei's burial in Babaoshan Cemetery is not only a recognition of his personal experience, but also a kind of face-up to the multifaceted nature of history, reflecting the country's tolerance for meritorious heroes and respect for history.
What do you think differently about this?
Reference: Origin of Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery - CNKI (cnki.net)
China.com - "Huang Wei, the "Transformation" of a General"
"Amnesty 1959" From War Criminals to Comrades, Huang Wei: I Can't Help Crying Bitterly (whb.cn)