In 1955, before the Chinese People's Liberation Army held a ceremony to confer titles, Mao Zedong presided over a conferment report meeting. At the meeting, Mao Zedong asked in front of Peng Dehuai, Xu Liqing, and several other comrades:
"Among the comrades above the general level, how many Huangpu students are there?"
Peng Dehuai calculated carefully and said many names. But as he spoke, Peng Dehuai couldn't help but mention many Huangpusheng who had already sacrificed for the revolution. In the end, Peng Dehuai said a name - Duan Dechang.
Mao Zedong's expression suddenly became serious after hearing this, and he silently lit a cigarette, chanting the name of "Duan Dechang" in his mouth, and tears began to appear in his eyes. Looking at the sad Mao Zedong, Peng Dehuai had no choice but to abort the debriefing meeting and quietly withdrew.
Mao Zedong's thoughts were full of thoughts, and he seemed to have returned to the day when he first met Duan Dechang more than thirty years ago.
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In the spring of 1921, the spring rains in Nan County on the shore of Dongting Lake began to stop. As a supervisor in Hunan Province, Mao Zedong came from the provincial capital of Changsha to Duan Dechang's alma mater, Nanxian Higher Primary School, to learn about the situation. The principal of Nanxian High School briefed Mao Zedong on the education situation of the school, and inadvertently, the principal mentioned the name of a student, who was Duan Dechang, who was known as the "Child King".
Hearing this name, Mao Zedong felt as if he had some impressions. Some time ago, a small group in NanXian county had brewed a big storm. It turned out that the original principal had embezzled the property of the canteen, and the students could only eat inferior or even spoiled food. Therefore, Duan Dechang launched a rebellion of the whole school. In the end, the principal was dismissed from his post, and Duan Dechang was punished for this. While leading the student rebellion, Duan Dechang also wrote a whistleblower letter to Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong was shocked, so he decided to meet this hot-blooded young man who was "brave and strategic."
Soon, a young student in a blue robe with glowing eyes was led to Mao Zedong.
Duan Dechang, a native of Nan County, was born in 1904, 11 years younger than Mao Zedong. Born into a family of progressive intellectuals, he has made it his mission to study and save the country since childhood. As early as 1918, at the age of 14, he led the teachers and students of the county to carry out patriotic activities.
In his conversation with Duan Dechang, Mao Zedong found that he was quick-witted, responsive, and his views on things were even more penetrating. Especially for the student movement since the "May Fourth Movement", it is even more precious.
Mao Zedong listened attentively, secretly admiring Duan Dechang's knowledgeable knowledge and his outstanding patriotism. So Mao Zedong took out from the package a few copies of the latest publications such as "New Youth" and handed them to Duan Dechang.
Holding these new publications that emitted the fragrance of ink, Duan Dechang was ecstatic and looked at them very seriously. Mao Zedong lovingly moved the oil lamp in front of him, and then said humorously:
"Brother Dechang, you and I are like when I was young, when you encounter good books, like a hungry cow breaking into a vegetable garden and eating in a big mouthful!"
Just as the so-called heroes cherish heroes, Mao Zedong saw Duan Dechang's extraordinary temperament at a glance. So the two talked all night and talked all night, without the slightest drowsiness. Mao Zedong said to Duan Dechang in a serious tone:
"It's up to our generation to smash the old world. Young people must be good at learning all kinds of methods that are both literate and martial, to organize the masses and to create a new world. ”
Mao Zedong's concept of the masses seemed to open up a new world for Duan Dechang, and he shook Mao Zedong's hand and said excitedly: "Brother Run, it is really a blessing to know you in three lifetimes!" As the saying goes, "It is better to read a book for ten years than to hear a king's words", which is really true. ”
In this regard, Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, Duan Dechang embarked on the road of socialist revolution. After obtaining his father's consent, Duan Dechang took a ferry to Changsha and was admitted to changsha commercial college. In Changsha, Duan Dechang and Mao Zedong met frequently and became acquainted with revolutionary comrades such as Xie Jueya and He Changgong.
By 1925, Duan Dechang had gloriously joined the Communist Party of China. At the recommendation of Mao Zedong, Duan Dechang went to the Whampoa Military Academy to study, and with excellent results, he was promoted to the second regiment of the fourth infantry section of the Whampoa Military Academy.
During his studies at school, Duan Dechang met Mao Zedong by chance, and the two embraced each other warmly. From the conversation, Mao Zedong learned that Duan Dechang studied hard at the Whampoa Military Academy, excelled, and was even more called a "literary and martial all-rounder" by Zhou Enlai.
Soon after, however, Mao Zedong heard the news of Duan Dechang's expulsion. And the initiator was none other than Chiang Kai-shek, the principal of the Whampoa Military Academy.
Since the "Zhongshan Ship Incident," Chiang Kai-shek has been constantly planning a conspiracy to "clean up the party" and wantonly persecute and arrest Communists. To this end, Duan Dechang and his classmates wrote an open letter accusing Chiang Kai-shek of "breaking away from the revolution and becoming a warlord." In his letter, he said:
"If we used to follow you as a supporter and student of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, then you must know that on the day you betray the people, we will knock you down without mercy!"
Upon seeing the letter, Chiang Kai-shek was furious, and he ordered Duan Dechang to be arrested and imprisoned. Chiang Kai-shek threatened that if Duan Dechang did not admit guilt, he would be immediately expelled.
In this regard, Duan Dechang said without fear:
"I came to the school to study for the National Revolution, and I gave advice to the principal so that the National Revolution could succeed quickly. If you want to close, you can get rid of it, and there is no sin to be recognized! ”
In a fit of rage, Chiang Kai-shek did indeed expel Duan Dechang from his school, causing a great shock on the campus.
Under the protection of Zhou Enlai, director of the Political Department, Duan Dechang was recommended to study at a political workshop sponsored by Mao Zedong and Li Fuchun. After graduating, he participated in the Northern Expedition and successively served as the chief of the propaganda section and secretary of the political department of the 5th Division of the 8th Army of the National Revolutionary Army, and the secretary general of the Political Department of the 1st Division and the editor-in-chief of the Northern Expedition Weekly.
Although he was a propagandist, Duan Dechang still dared to take the lead and risk his life, and he led his comrades to organize stretchers for the troops, deliver water and food, and agitate on the battlefield. Therefore, Duan Dechang is also known as the chief of the iron section. It is worth mentioning that Duan Dechang found a world-class talent in the Xiang Army, and this person is the General Peng Dehuai, whom we are familiar with.
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Peng Dehuai was born in the Xiang Army and later participated in the Northern Expedition. Unlike other old officers, Peng Dehuai was brave and brave, clean and self-righteous, not greedy, not occupied, not gambling, not prostituting, was an outlier, and was very famous in the army.
Duan Dechang believes that Peng Dehuai is a material that can be made. After the Northern Expedition conquered Wuchang, Duan Dechang, who had been promoted to secretary of the division's political department, found Peng Dehuai, and the two of them talked at night from Yuquan Mountain in Dangyang County.
Even after 40 years, Peng Dehuai still remembers the scene of that night. That day, under the oil lamp, Duan Dechang asked Peng Dehuai: "What do you think of Guan Yu?" ”
Peng Dehuai replied: "I originally admired him, but now I think that Guan Yu is a tool of the feudal rulers, and now he is still being used as a tool by the ruling class, which is very boring." ”
Duan Dechang asked again, "Then what do you think is interesting?" Peng Dehuai said: "It is interesting to serve the workers and peasants!" ”
In response to Peng Dehuai's answer, Duan Dechang nodded with satisfaction, and then continued to ask: "What do you think is the ultimate goal of the National Revolution?" ”
Peng Dehuai replied: "Isn't it now shouting every day that we want to overthrow imperialism, warlords, corrupt officials, local tycoons and inferior gentry, and achieve rent reduction in the second five-year plan?" I think that the tillers should have their land, and should not stay on the two or five rent reductions. ”
In response to Peng Dehuai's answer, Duan Dechang further elaborated: "A true revolutionary should not stay in the land of the cultivators, but should change the private ownership of the means of production into public ownership, and develop from distribution according to work to a communist system of distribution according to needs." The Communist Party has fought for this ideal all its life! ”
Duan Dechang's words opened up a new world for Peng Dehuai and allowed him to grow from an old democrat to a communist. In the days that followed, Peng Dehuai eagerly read the political books and progressive books given to him by Duan Dechang, and began a life of pursuing revolutionary truth. In April 1928, under the introduction of Duan Dechang, Peng Dehuai gloriously joined the Communist Party.
On July 22, 1928, Peng Dehuai led the Pingjiang Uprising, thus beginning his glorious military career. As Peng Dehuai's introduction to the party and BoLe, Duan Dechang cultivated a handsome talent for the Chinese revolution and the masses of the people who can shoulder great responsibilities and have both wisdom and courage.
At the same time as the excavation of Peng Dehuai, Duan Dechang himself also actively participated in military activities and participated in the August 1 Nanchang Uprising. Due to a burn in his left eye during the battle, Duan Dechang returned to his hometown in Nan County to recuperate. After recovering from his injuries, Duan Dechang secretly sneaked to the Wuzhou area of Gong'an County, Hubei Province, and secretly established the party's grass-roots organization and the workers' and peasants' armed forces. During this period, Duan Dechang's military ability was fully displayed.
Previously, Duan Dechang had been engaged in political work and had rarely been able to show his ability to lead the army alone. In the Honghu base area, Duan Dechang, with his extremely inferior troops and inferior equipment, defeated the enemy.
Duan Dechang led guerrillas often attacked enemy bunkers, cut off enemy communications, and attacked enemy strongholds at Fengkou, Fuchang, Shizihe, Wuxinchang, Qujiawan, Liuguan, and other places, winning one victory after another. By the winter of 1928, Duan Dechang had miraculously established a small base area in Honghu Lake, and the guerrillas had grown to more than 1,000 people and more than 500 guns.
Of course, Duan Dechang's talent is not only military, but also quite a set in the construction of base areas. In order to strengthen the discipline of the troops, he specially compiled a "Red Army Discipline Song":
"Big sabre, red gun, I went to the Red Army to treat the soldiers." Revolutionary discipline must be observed, and the Communist Party teaches to keep in mind. Actions are commanded, united and fraternal. Officers and soldiers share weal and woe and help each other on an equal footing. Suffer in the front, enjoy in the back. Big sabers, red tassels, I went to the Red Army to treat the soldiers. Revolutionary discipline must be observed, and the Communist Party teaches to keep in mind. Love the people, welcome everywhere. Ask the masses about things, and buy and sell fairly. A needle and a line, not half a millimeter. ”
During the period of stationing in the Soviet zone, in addition to political education and military training, they also helped the peasants to cultivate fields, carry water, and sweep the land, and the peasant masses who suffered from warlords and warlords saw such an army for the first time. Hence the chanting:
"Ground rice, white flowers, Red Army brother came to my house." It is not that the people deliberately boast, the brother of the Red Army is too good, either you grab the bucket, or he takes the broom, does not want the people to have a grass, and treats the people as a family. ”
The army is the fish, the people are the water, and Duan Dechang's mass policy has enabled the Red Army to gain a firm foothold in the Honghu Su District. By early February 1930, Duan Dechang's ranks were expanded into the 6th Army of the Red Army, with Duan Dechang serving as deputy commander and commander of the First Column. By June, the Red 6th Army had expanded to 12,000 people, and the Honghu base area had expanded to more than 10 counties, establishing the Western Hubei Soviet Union County Government. In early July of the same year, He Long led the Red 4th Army to Honghu Lake, and met with the 6th Army, and the Honghu Su District began to become unprecedentedly powerful.
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The Red Army has three major fronts, each of which has outstanding military leaders, mao Zedong, Zhu De, Peng Dehuai, Lin Biao and others in the Red Army, Xu Xiangqian and others in the Red Fourth Front, and Duan Dechang, the predecessor of the Red Second Front.
In western Xiang'e, there is a folk proverb that says, "If you don't fall, you can't win without a paragraph." "He Long is the leader and banner of the Red Second Army, as the commander-in-chief, he can maintain the morale of the army, boost morale, as long as he is in the army, no matter what kind of blows the troops encounter, they can be defeated and not collapsed, even if the troops are scattered, the future can still be regrouped."
Duan Dechang, on the other hand, was the organizer and commander of the army's operations. As long as Duan Dechang was in command, the Red Second Army would not lose. Later, all the victories in the Honghu Su District, Duan Dechang had great merits.
Just as the so-called heroes saw the same thing, like Mao Zedong, Duan Dechang also understood the importance of "concentrating superior forces" and "annihilating the enemy in motion." Duan Dechang once put forward the guerrilla tactic of "the enemy comes and I fly, the enemy returns, the more people are artillery, and the fewer people are engaged in guerrilla tactics." This is similar to the one put forward by Mao Zedong and Zhu De at Jinggangshan: "The enemy advances and retreats, the enemy garrisons us to disturb, the enemy wears us out to fight, and the enemy retreats and I pursue."
As a result, He Long and Duan Dechang joined forces and won one battle after another. At that time, the Kuomintang newspapers in Wuhan were also amazed:
"In the Jianghan Plain, the bandits are getting worse and worse, the bandit leader Duan Dechang is making a comeback, he uses his troops like gods, our army is ineffective, and we have repeatedly lost the north... Since then, Shenzhou has no peace!"
How godly Duan Dechang used his troops, we can glimpse one of them from the following battle examples. In January 1932, the enemy concentrated a large number of troops and attacked the revolutionary base area in western Hunan and Hubei, with the 12th Brigade of the 4th Division as the main force.
In order to completely annihilate this opponent, Duan Dechang cleverly laid out an ambush position. At that time, our army had too little ammunition, and it was necessary to save money in every battle. In order to save ammunition, Duan Dechang ordered each squad of the troops to bring a red flag, an iron barrel, and a string of firecrackers.
After the enemy entered our ambush position, Duan Dechang ordered all the squads of soldiers to immediately plant red flags, and then burned firecrackers in iron barrels. The loud echo of the firecrackers, as if thousands of machine guns were firing at the same time.
Duan Dechang's suspicious tactic soon worked, and the enemy thought that our army was strong, so he fled in defeat without much fighting. In this battle, our army completely annihilated more than 4,000 enemy troops at a very small cost, captured 20 mortars, more than 60 light and heavy machine guns, more than 3,000 rifles, tens of thousands of bullets, and more than 10,000 sets of military uniforms.
After the defeat in this battle, He Chengjun, the head of the Wuhan Appeasement Office, was annoyed and ashamed, and he, with the main force of Xu Yuanquan of the 10th Army, with the cooperation of the Sichuan Army and the security regiments of Yingcheng and Tianmen, counterattacked the Xiangbei New Area.
Duan Dechang saw that the enemy army was strong, so he decided to avoid the real and point his target at the weaker enemy 48th Division. At Wenjiadun, Duan Dechang led the Red 9th Division to surround the 144th Brigade of the 48th Division. In this battle, our army quickly annihilated the enemy army by means of encircling points to provide assistance, capturing more than 2,000 people below the brigade commander, killing more than 1,000 enemy people, capturing more than 3,000 rifles, more than 50 light and heavy machine guns, and more than 10 artillery pieces.
In the summer of 1932, Chiang Kai-shek launched the fourth encirclement and suppression campaign against our Honghu base area, led by Fan Shaozeng, a tough general of the Sichuan Army known as the "Stupid Commander."
In early June, Fan Shaozeng of the 4th Fan Shaozeng of the 21st Army of the Sichuan Army, who had invaded Honghu from Shashi, aggressively invaded the area around Laoxinkou, Longwansi, and Zhangjinhe in the Jiangling area of Our Jiangling Area, and then pressed straight for Xingouzui. At that time, only a small number of troops of the Red Army Guard Regiment were left in the rear of our Soviet area, and the situation was very grim.
However, to Fan Silly'er's surprise, Duan Dechang led the Red 9th Division to brave the wind and rain, traveled more than 200 miles a day and night, and secretly rushed to the area north of Xingouzui and made a deep ambush along the south bank of the Dongjing River.
On June 13, the arrogant Fan Shaozeng led his troops to the south bank of the Dongjing River, and Duan Dechang sent his own guards to lure the enemy and hook the enemy out of the barbed wire. After entering the ambush area of our army, Duan Dechang immediately ordered the Red 9th Division to launch a combined attack on Fan Shaozeng's troops.
Just when our army and the enemy's short troops were in contact, regardless of victory or defeat, under the order of Duan Dechang, the red army cavalry brigade galloped forward, and the snow-bright saber cut the enemy on his back and collapsed into an army.
In this battle, our army completely annihilated one of Fan Shaozeng's division headquarters and an entire brigade, killed and captured more than 5,000 enemy soldiers, and captured more than 4,000 guns. Fan Shao disguised himself and fled in a hurry riding a buffalo.
In the first half of 1932 alone, Duan Dechang commanded troops to annihilate more than 10,000 enemy troops, captured 2 enemy brigade commanders alive, and wounded two division commanders.
"A thousand armies are easy to obtain, but one will be difficult to find." Duan Dechang has both wisdom and courage, and uses soldiers like gods, which can be described as a generation of handsome talents. In the eyes of many people, Duan Dechang's talent is enough to keep pace with Xu Xiangqian. However, it is sad that Duan Dechang was killed on May 1, 1933, at the age of 29.
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After Duan Dechang's death, how did Mao Zedong know the news? How did you react? The author did not find relevant written records. But you can imagine how sad Mao Zedong was.
From April 23 to June 11, 1945, at the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Mao Zedong presided over the memorial meeting of The Chinese Martyrs who died and personally inscribed the eulogy "Long live the martyrs who died". Among the many martyrs who died, Duan Dechang was listed.
On March 4, 1951, the State Council of the People's Republic of China held a ceremony to issue certificates of revolutionary martyrdom. When filling out the martyr's certificate, Chairman Mao stared at the gilded certificate stamped with the "Seal of the People's Republic of China" and pondered solemnly for a few minutes. Then he took out a blank certificate with the serial number "One" and vigorously wrote down the three words "Duan Dechang". Since then, Duan Dechang has become the "number one martyr" of the republic. Although Duan Dechang only lived for 29 years, it was a vigorous 29 years, 29 years in the annals of history. The name Duan Dechang weighed very heavily in Mao Zedong's mind.
In 1955, the Chinese People's Liberation Army held a ceremony to award titles. When Peng Dehuai led several comrades to report to Chairman Mao on their work, Mao Zedong asked, "How many Huangpu students are there among the comrades above the general level who are to be awarded?" Peng Dehuai made a careful calculation, listed many names, and couldn't help but say the names of some martyrs who had already sacrificed. In the end, Peng Dehuai mentioned his own Bole , Duan Dechang.
Hearing this name, Mao Zedong stood up solemnly, lit a cigarette, and his eyes were quickly filled with tears. At that moment, the great man must have recalled the moment when he first met Duan Dechang, and thought of Duan Dechang's sonorous and powerful words and the bright eyes. He may be thinking about how good it would be if Duan Dechang lived to the point of liberation. Looking at the tearful Mao Zedong, Peng Dehuai was also very emotional, and he had to abort the debriefing meeting and quietly withdrew.
In recent years, Duan Dechang's name has been repeatedly mentioned by the military historians, and many military historians and enthusiasts believe that if Duan Dechang had not died so early, he would have become a hero reused by Mao Zedong in the future, and he would certainly be able to stand alone, and his future was unlimited.
In the mid-to-late 1980s, when compiling and publishing the "Encyclopedia of China and Military Volumes," Deng Xiaoping, then chairman of the Central Military Commission, personally presided over a meeting and, through a comprehensive and objective evaluation of the many generals of our army over the past 60 -odd years since the founding of our army, formally confirmed for the first time 33 military experts of our army, including Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Deng Xiaoping, Peng Dehuai, Liu Bocheng, and He Long. In 1994, Huang Gongluo, Fang Zhimin and Liu Zhidan were added. Among the martyrs who died, Duan Dechang was behind Ye Ting, Xu Jishen, and Cai Shenxi.
In May 1983, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Duan Dechang's death, his hometown of Nanxian officially built a martyrs' monument for him. To this day, the 29 giant trees planted in front of the monument still point their heads high to the sky.