In 2004, Jilin Governor Hong Hu came to the General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army Military Hospital in Beijing.
He didn't come here to see a doctor, but to visit his father, Hong Xuezhi.
Hong Xuezhi
Hong Xuezhi was naturally happy when he saw his son, and smiled and held hands to praise Hong Hu.
"I want to praise you, the new construction of the Siping Martyrs Cemetery has done a good job."
Hong Xuezhi and Hong Hu
But before Hong Hu could be happy, Hong Xuezhi next beat the big governor.
"But you're not good enough! How did you become a governor? Why hasn't the Siping Battle Memorial been implemented yet? ”
Hong Xuezhi is worthy of being a tiger general, even if he is still powerful in his old age, he trains the governor of a province to be obedient.
But why does he care so much about the commemorative facilities related to the Siping Battle?
For this reason, he even did not hesitate to criticize his eldest son, who is the governor.
What kind of battle was the Battle of Siping? How many inseparable memories does he have with the Battle of Siping?
Four draws on the eve of the Great War
In 1945, the ferocious Japan invaders finally surrendered to China and formally surrendered.
This historical moment marked a decisive victory in the great War of Resistance of the Chinese Nation and the long-awaited peace of the Chinese people.
However, Chiang Kai-shek was secretly planning a new war conspiracy, and his heart was condemnable and his deeds were hateful.
At that time, the three eastern provinces had been operated by the Kwantung Army of Japan for more than ten years, and were already the most complete and powerful rich places in the country.
Therefore, after the evacuation of the Japanese, this became the most important target for our party and the Kuomintang to strive for.
The Northeast is the most important thing in the country, and Siping is the top priority in the Northeast.
Siping is located in the Songliao Plain, which controls the traffic key points that lead directly to the hinterland of the northeast after entering the customs, and its geographical location is of great strategic significance.
Moreover, Siping is adjacent to the main industrial base cities in Northeast China, which can be said to be a latch of the Northeast industrial treasure house.
As a result, Siping's strategic position has been greatly enhanced, and both parties have built in Siping.
Its importance is self-evident and has become a key part of the strategic layout of both sides.
After numerous open and covert struggles, our party has gained a large number of popular hearts and minds in the northeast region.
In April 46, the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army took this opportunity to win Siping and actually control it in one fell swoop.
Maybe it was the loss of Siping that stimulated Chiang Kai-shek, or maybe it was the people's hearts of the whole country that belonged to our party and made him crazy.
More than 10 days after the liberation of Siping by the Democratic Alliance Army, the Kuomintang gathered tens of thousands of people, including the 71st Army, and launched a large-scale attack on Siping.
The strategic position of Siping is very important, and the people of Siping have just broken free from the shackles and ushered in liberation.
If you retreat at this time, all the sacrifices of the past will be in vain.
Since Chiang Kai-shek attacked Siping in disregard of national righteousness, there was no reason for the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army to be slaughtered by others.
The Siping Defense War kicked off like this.
Siping immersed in blood and fire
When the Siping enemy pressed the border, our party immediately summoned almost all the superior forces in the northeast region to support.
A large number of troops and commanders went to Siping, and Hong Xuezhi was one of them.
At that time, he was serving as the deputy commander of the Western Liaoning Military Region, responsible for assisting in the defense of the Siping urban area.
Although he was assisting in the defense, the danger he faced was not much less than that of a frontal battlefield.
The Kuomintang dispatched two armies, with a total strength of more than 70,000 troops.
At that time, the strength of our party to defend Siping was less than 40,000.
Moreover, Chiang Kai-shek invested heavily in this operation and allocated a large number of American-style ordnance to the front.
As a result, the actual firepower of the two sides may differ by more than five or six times.
The Siping defense front was 100 miles long, and the national army had different firepower configurations on various fronts.
Among them, the most fiercely attacked was the position guarded by Hong Xuezhi's Sixth Column.
The national army gave up insisting on a large-scale assault position and always insisted on giving full play to the superiority of artillery fire.
Mortars, infantry guns, howitzers...... At all times, artillery shells exploded and lingered over the positions of the Sixth Column.
The soldiers who were still shooting stubbornly in the fortifications one second may disappear into the pit with the sound of the explosion the next second.
Even Hong Xuezhi's command post was affected by artillery shells and many officers were sacrificed.
Many years later, Hong Xuezhi once described the war situation at that time.
"The position is difficult to defend, fifty or sixty shells can be smashed down in a minute, not to mention the soldiers, even the trenches have been blown up."
Such tragic casualties did not make Hong Xuezhi retreat, and the heavy artillery of the national army did not make the six columns timid.
After each shelling, the surviving fighters always rushed out of the pit.
Quickly organized a full-fledged positional defense and repelled several enemy attacks.
But the heroic resistance of the fighters could not change the disparity in strength between the two sides.
The 71st Army, with its absolute superiority in firepower, was still unable to win four draws.
This stimulated Chiang Kai-shek to become even more frantic and continued to increase troops to Siping.
After several months of difficult holdings, the Party Central Committee had no choice but to decide on a strategic retreat.
At this time, the Siping front was already full of gunsmoke and fire and bright red land.
Hong Xuezhi also retreated with the large army to the north of the Songhua River.
Although the Battle of Siping was temporarily over, the tragic sacrifices and battle conditions made Hong Xuezhi unforgettable.
Most of the soldiers who smiled and saluted him on weekdays turned into heroic souls and were buried in Siping forever.
After that, the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army was officially reorganized into the PLA Field Army sequence.
Subsequently, several counterattacks were launched to capture Siping, but Hong Xuezhi was unable to participate by chance.
This also made Hong Xuezhi even more obsessed with Siping, which was hard to forget.
Siping after liberation
In 1948, after four bloody battles, Siping finally ushered in the final liberation.
After the liberation of Siping, Hong Xuezhi went to Siping as soon as possible to remember the pain of the past.
When he revisited the old land, the figures of thousands of comrades-in-arms who had died in the past appeared in front of him, making his eyes full of tears and his tiger body trembling slightly.
The depression in his heart not only did not dissolve, but became more and more intense.
This sorrow continued to accumulate in his heart, like a gloom that could not be dispelled.
In 1962, Hong Xuezhi came to Siping again.
At this time, he heard that the martyrs' cemetery of the Siping Defense War had been built, and immediately went to visit and mourn.
But after he came, he found that the cemetery was old and lacked management.
The inscription on the tombstones of the martyrs is not clear, and the vegetation in the cemetery is lacking, so it looks gray and bare.
This made him secretly remember the incident in his heart, and vowed that after the national difficulties passed, the martyrs' cemetery must be renewed.
Since the reform and opening up, the whole country has resolutely embarked on the highway of economic development, and the momentum of development has been like a bamboo, and it has been advancing all the way.
Only then did Hong Xuezhi say what was buried deep in his heart.
He instructed his son, who was the governor of Jilin, and told him that he must rebuild the cemetery of the martyrs of the Siping Defense War.
The soldiers of that year paid such a tragic sacrifice, and they could not let the cemetery be ruined after their death.
After that, the Siping Martyrs Cemetery was completely renovated.
Towering monuments and clean-paved aisles have made it easy for countless people to come to pay their respects to the martyrs.
Lush red star poplars grow all over every corner, allowing the souls of the martyrs to rest here.
In 2004, even though he was sick, Hong Xuezhi still did not forget to urge Hong Hu to pay close attention to the construction of the Siping Defense War Memorial Hall.
After Hong Hu stepped down as governor, the construction of the memorial hall was not abandoned.
Under the joint supervision of the two governors, Siping Heroes Square was finally built into a Heroes Memorial Hall.
Here is a record of everything that countless revolutionary martyrs have done for Siping, so that every Siping person can remember their efforts and sacrifices.
After hearing that the memorial hall was finally completed, Hong Xuezhi, who was already extremely old, couldn't help laughing.
The regret of the Siping Defense War, which ran through the second half of his life, was finally made up for in this way decades later.
epilogue
The Siping Defense War Martyrs Cemetery and the Siping Battle Memorial Hall have now become important scenic spots in Siping.
Every year, it attracts countless tourists and children, allowing us to carefully understand the difficulties of the victory of the revolution.
And the spirit of dedication and sacrifice will also be passed on forever from generation to generation.
Resources:
1, Global Network "Four Wars and Four Draws"
2. Communist Party of China News Network "[Interview Record] Hong Hu Recalls "My Father Hong Xuezhi"