Before the arrival of New China, we experienced a long period of revolutionary struggle, during which countless loyal revolutionary relatives and revolutionary volunteers regarded death as a homecoming and defended the party's cause with their own blood and lives. One of them was impressive because their wedding was special and was held on the battlefield of heroic righteousness.
In the early morning of February 6, 1928, a pair of young people who were flourishing were escorted by the reactionaries to a hand-pulled cart and sent to the Huanghuagang (now known as Honghuagang) execution ground. On the execution ground, the cold wind whistled and the sky was full of dark clouds, Chen Tiejun looked at Zhou Wenyong affectionately and said in a loud voice to the crowd: "Now I announce to everyone that we are going to hold a wedding here!" Let the reactionaries shoot and use it as a salute for our marriage! ”
After speaking, she walked over to Zhou Wenyong's side, straightened her chest, and the two stood side by side arm in arm. In the face of the muzzle of the enemy's black hole hole, in the face of the life and death of their lovers, they did not show fear of death, but were awe-inspiring and unyielding, seeing death as a homecoming. They shouted at the executioner, "Shoot!" ”
The reactionaries' gunshots rang out, and the evil bullets penetrated the chests of Zhou Wenyong and Chen Tiejun. Suddenly, Zhou Wenyong stubbornly struggled to support his upper body, shouting with the last bit of strength: "Comrades... Revolution to the end..."
Yes, Red Flower Hill was their execution ground, their battlefield, and their auditorium for their solemn and noble weddings. And this wedding, there are no flower limousines, some are just enemy prison carts and butcher knives; there are no congratulatory firecracker salutes, and some are just reactionaries' viciousness and gunfire... Zhou Wenyong and Li Tiejun, with their own actions and determination, left a song of life and love in history.
So, what are the special identities of Zhou Wenyong and Li Tiejun? Why did they have a wedding on the execution ground?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="153" > poor boys and rich women who threw themselves into the revolution</h1>
Zhou Wenyong was born in August 1905 in Baoding Village, Maogang Township, Kaiping County, Guangdong Province, to a poor family, but his father was an intellectual. Usually, Zhou Wenyong followed his father to a private school to study, and in his spare time, his father would tell him about the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and the deeds of Wen Tianxiang, and Zhou Wenyong's heart shook after listening to it, and he secretly made up his mind to become a backbone person in the future.
In 1922, he was admitted to the mechanical department of the Guangdong Provincial Grade A Industrial School, and with the financial support of relatives and friends, he left home to study. Because of its revolutionary tradition, this school is known as the "Red Workers", and here, Zhou Wenyong, who originally only wanted to study, resolutely threw himself into the revolution after reading revolutionary books such as "Guide", a publication of the CENTRAL Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
In 1923, he joined the Chinese Socialist Youth League, and was later elected as the deputy director of the Clerical Department of the Municipal Federation of Students and a member of the Guangdong District Executive Committee of the Youth League.
In the autumn of the same year, because the troops of the Eastern Crusading Army counterattacked the warlord Chen Jiongming in Shilong Town, the Youth League organized a youth consolation team to go to the front, and Zhou Wenyong was also among them as a youth representative. At that time, the rebels controlled the commanding heights near Shilong and blocked the road, and when Zhou Wenyong and the comfort team reached the bridge, they were suppressed by intensive fire and could not advance. Therefore, the crowd quickly pierced more than a dozen scarecrows on the spot, and disguised them as a posture to rush forward, instantly confusing the enemy.
Zhou Wenyong took the opportunity to lead everyone to rush across the iron bridge, running in front of him, at a glance, he saw an enemy army with a light machine gun shooting at the scarecrow, so he quickly stepped forward and took advantage of his lack of preparation to grab the light machine gun. His outstanding performance won everyone's admiration, and since then, he has become an important student leader in Guangdong.
In 1925, Zhou Wenyong joined the Communist Party of China and successively served as a member of the Working Committee of the Cpc Guangdong District Committee, the chief of the Guangdong Workers' Picket Team, the director of the Organization Department of the Cpc Guangzhou Municipal Committee and the secretary of the Working Committee of the Municipal Party Committee, etc. After experiencing countless trainings, he laid the foundation for him to firmly choose the revolutionary road later.
The other Chen Tiejun, whose original name was actually Chen Xiejun, was different from Zhou Wenyong, who was born in a family of returned overseas Chinese and rich merchants, and has eaten and dressed since she was a child. But her parents' minds were soaked with feudal etiquette, and when she was still in elementary school, she chose a family affair for her. The other party is the grandson of the blind cake boss of He Heji, this family affair is very suitable in the eyes of others, the two families are right, and no one cares about Chen Tiejun's wishes.
Later, the He family urged the two to complete the marriage as soon as possible on the grounds that the old man was seriously ill and needed to do a wedding .100. Because Chen Tiejun was still young, the two sides agreed to only worship the church and have different rooms, Chen Tiejun was unwilling to decide his life, but his parents' orders were difficult to disobey. Her teacher also advised her to try to meet each other first, and if people are good, feelings can be slowly cultivated. Chen Tiejun agreed with a glimmer of hope.
On the agreed day, the two went to church and became intimate. After marriage, Chen Tiejun took the initiative to talk to the other party, and as a result, after a few words, she found that the other party's thinking was very conservative and vulgar, Chen Tiejun was disappointed, and she immediately chose to go back to her mother's house to continue studying.
When she graduated from elementary school, the other party signaled for her to go back to complete the marriage contract, Chen Tiejun was unwilling, and her brother and sister-in-law decided to put pressure on her and cut off her tuition, thinking that she would honestly go to He's house. Who knew that Chen Tiejun did not yield with an iron heart, she took off her jewelry and clothes, and pooled money to go to Guangzhou to study.
At this time, Guangzhou was at the climax of the Great Revolution, and soon Chen Tiejun came into contact with Marxism, and she and her classmates organized the "Current Affairs Research Society" to study Marxism together, and also combined with current affairs, wrote many articles and published them in newspapers and periodicals. She not only thinks about how to save the country and the people, but even explores the road to women's liberation. During this period, she studied hard and was admitted to Sun Yat-sen University as she wished.
During her university years, she participated in demonstrations in solidarity with the "May Thirtieth" Movement, and she witnessed the enemy even shooting and strafing in order to suppress students, which made her deeply realize that only by overthrowing imperialism and feudalism can we truly save the country and save the people, and there is hope for women's liberation. Determined to carry the revolution through to the end, she changed her name to Iron Army and persuaded her sister to change her name to Iron Er.
Chen Tiejun (right) and his sister
In 1926, Chen Tiejun joined the Communist Party of China and devoted himself to the cause of revolution.
On April 15, 1927, the Kuomintang launched the "April 15" counter-revolutionary coup, and the reactionaries surrounded Sun Yat-sen University. At the critical juncture, in order to carry out the organization's orders, Chen Tiejun escaped by climbing over the wall by climbing a tree, disguised himself, and rushed to Xiguan to inform Deng Yingchao, the head of the Women's Committee of the Guangdong District CPC Committee, who was still treating patients in the hospital, to retreat. Under the cover of everyone, she successfully helped Deng Yingchao evacuate, and many years later, Deng Yingchao recalled the scene at that time and often lamented that if Chen Tiejun had not arrived in time, her consequences would be unimaginable.
Although Chen Tiejun completed the task, she lost contact with the organization, and she tried to find the organization many times, but due to the enemy's search, the progress was very slow. When her brother found her, he advised her to abandon the revolution, think more about her own happiness, and if he could, he would sponsor her to study abroad. Chen Tiejun flatly refused, saying: "It is precisely because the revolution has reached a critical moment that there is a greater need for people who are not afraid of danger." Being able to give my life for everyone's happiness is also my happiness! ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="152" > fake couples who came together because of the revolution</h1>
After the counter-revolutionary coup, many activities went underground. In accordance with the spirit of the Eighty-Seventh Conference, the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee decided to launch an armed uprising in Guangdong, and Zhou Wenyong, as the secretary of the Guangdong Municipal Party Committee Working Committee, began to establish a secret armed force of workers. Zhou Wenyong was active frequently, and the organization was worried that his singleness was easy to be suspected, so he sent Chen Tiejun to pretend to be his wife and assist him in his work.
Although the two were "fake couples", Chen Tiejun found that the goals of the two people were highly consistent with their ideals when working with Zhou Wenyong, and Zhou Wenyong, who devoted himself to the revolution, quickly attracted her.
Later, Zhou Wenyong was arrested while leading a demonstration of workers, and because of his special status, the organization decided to rescue him immediately. At that time, Zhou Wenyong's identity had not been fully revealed, and the enemy did not know his true identity, so only when he was an ordinary small leader, he was detained in the public security bureau.
After discussion, the organization finally decided to "outsmart". Chen Tiejun successfully obtained the opportunity to visit the prison by virtue of his status as a "wife". During the visit, she passed on the rescue plan set by the organization to Zhou Wenyong, who led other comrades to actively cooperate with the rescue operation in the prison.
The organization managed to send food fried with ginger and peppers into it, zhou Wenyong continued to eat a lot, did not drink tea, and after a long time of physical discomfort, launched a high fever, and looked very weak. Zhou Wenyong saw the opportunity and began to moan loudly and asked to go to the hospital. The other comrades in prison followed suit, saying for a moment that it was typhoid fever and that it would be contagious, and for a moment saying that they were so sick that they would not let people go to see medical treatment, and that there was no reason to put pressure on the reactionaries.
Chen Tiejun was not idle outside, she pretended to be a rich young grandmother to find a prison doctor, stuffed him with a lot of money, and asked him to prove that Zhou Wenyong was seriously ill and had to go to the hospital.
With the joint efforts of everyone, the reactionaries finally believed that Zhou Wenyong was seriously ill, and they had not yet gotten the news they wanted from his mouth, so naturally they would not let him lose his life, so they had to agree to send him to the hospital for medical treatment. The reactionaries, fearing that Zhou Wenyong would flee, set up a police post at the gate and sent people to monitor them day and night.
After Zhou Wenyong was admitted to the hospital, the organization sent some comrades pretending to be patients and patients' families to inquire about the news near Zhou Wenyong and create favorable conditions for rescue. After determining the escape route, one night, a small car stopped at the entrance of the hospital, and several people came down from above, and before the sentry could react, he was shot at the head by a nearby comrade pretending to be a patient, shouting: "Don't move!" ”
After the sentry was solved, the men immediately entered the hospital, came to Zhou Wenyong's hospital room, wrapped it in a white cloth sheet, put on the unlicensed car that had been prepared, and ran away with the accelerator. The car drove towards Shahe and finally stopped at the door of a farmer's house, where Chen Tiejun was already waiting to be picked up.
The next day, the news of "unlicensed cars, robbing communist Zhou Wenyong" occupied the front pages of major private newspapers, and everyone praised the communist party for its bravery and resourcefulness. In response, the reactionaries dispatched a large number of police forces to search around. Zhou Wenyong and Chen Tiejun could not go out in the farm yard, and could only recuperate with peace of mind.
After a period of intense search and arrest, the reactionaries found nothing and gradually relaxed their vigilance. Many comrades suggested that Zhou Wenyong first go to Hong Kong to avoid the wind, but he refused, saying in his words: "Afraid of danger, do you still do revolution?" ”
In this way, Zhou Wenyong continued to prepare for the Guangzhou uprising despite the fact that his body had not yet recovered.
Chen Tiejun also continued to carry out the thrilling task of transporting weapons for the Workers' Red Guards. In Marshal Xu Qianqian's memoir "Running to Hailufeng", there is a passage that records the scene when she was on a mission: "We began to study the combat movements of street battles. Not long after, walk into a young lesbian carrying a basket. She wrapped her head, only her eyes, and silently put the basket on the table... The woman removed the vegetables that had been draped over the basket, revealing two pistols and several grenades. ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="151" > fake couples have real feelings</h1>
On November 28, 1927, the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to hold an uprising, which was set for the evening of December 12. Zhou Wenyong was both one of the leaders of the Revolutionary Military Commission and the commander-in-chief of the Workers' Red Guards, and in order to respond quickly to the uprising, he reorganized the City's Workers' Red Guards into seven companies, as well as automobile teams, sabotage traffic teams, information bureaus, and death squads. Under his guidance, the workers also used existing conditions to make improvised weapons.
Just as the crowd was preparing intensively, the enemy sensed the anomaly and began martial law throughout the city, while also preparing to suppress it at any time. Seeing that the situation had become urgent, the commander-in-chief of the uprising decided to hold the uprising in advance.
At 3:30 a.m. on December 11, three gunshots broke the silence of the night and heralded the beginning of the Guangzhou uprising. With a single order, more than 3,000 Red Guards who had already prepared themselves quickly attacked from all corners and pounced on the enemy's important military strongholds on the north bank of the Pearl River. The remaining Red Guards, in cooperation with the rebel soldiers, occupied various important departments and military strongholds in Guangzhou.
As the uprising progressed, a large banner embroidered with a hammer and sickle was raised on the roof of the uprising headquarters, and Zhou Wenyong hung his own "Guangzhou Soviet Government" on the gate tower, announcing the establishment of the Guangzhou Soviet Government.
After the outbreak of the uprising, Chen Tiejun served as Zhou Wenyong's liaison officer, and it coincided with the emergency in the direction of the Long Causeway, and the leader of the guard regiment could not understand Cantonese and it was difficult to coordinate with the workers, so he came to the headquarters to ask for an interpreter. The only person who could be assigned by Zhou Wenyong's side was Chen Tiejun, so the two separated after saying goodbye to each other, and each continued to dedicate his part where the revolution needed. During this period, the relationship between the two went further, but the revolution was at a critical moment, and both tacitly did not puncture this layer of paper.
Chen Tiejun Zhou Wenyong
On the morning of the 11th, under the presidency of Zhang Tailei, the first meeting of the Guangzhou Soviet Government was held, and 16 government members were elected, and Zhou Wenyong was elected as the People's Labor Commissioner and Minister of Education. At noon on the 12th, a meeting of workers, peasants, and soldiers was held in the watermelon garden, and as many as 10,000 people attended the scene, and Zhang Tailei delivered a speech to everyone, which won the warm applause of the crowd.
At this time, the reactionaries had long since eased up, gathered the strength of all sides, and began to besiege Guangzhou from the east, south, and north, and the reactionary army in the city also began to counterattack. At 2 p.m., after the workers' and peasants' and soldiers' meeting, Zhang Tailei returned to the headquarters and was attacked by the enemy on the way and unfortunately died. Other positions were also attacked by the enemy, and although everyone rose up to resist, they were always outnumbered and gradually fell behind.
On the 13th, the strength of the enemy army was still increasing, the pressure on the rebel army was increasing, and at the critical moment, the general headquarters ordered the withdrawal from Guangzhou, and Zhou Wenyong and Chen Tiejun retreated to Hong Kong. Zhou Wenyong was responsible for contacting and resettling comrades in Hong Kong, and although the uprising suffered setbacks, they did not lose heart, but were more determined to fight for the revolution to the end.
After the failure of the uprising, the revolutionary organization in Guangzhou was severely damaged. The Guangdong Provincial Party Committee decided to send a strong leading cadre back to Guangzhou to revive the party's work, and Zhou Wenyong was the most suitable candidate. Although he had been arrested, showed his face in front of the reactionaries, and it was very dangerous to go back, zhou Wenyong resolutely gave up this task for the sake of the interests of the revolution.
In January 1928, Zhou Wenyong disguised himself as an overseas Chinese businessman who had just returned from Nanyang and returned to Guangzhou, and Chen Tiejun, who had already returned to Guangzhou, met him at the dock. This time, the two of them are still pretending to be husband and wife, but in this "home", there are two other people- Chen Tiejun's sister and sister-in-law, who help cover the work of Zhou Wenyong and Chen Tiejun.
Zhou Wenyong and Chen Tiejun's initial task was to contact the separated comrades. At that time, the enemy was carrying out a tight search, and they carefully avoided the eyes and ears of the enemy while searching all over the city for their former comrades. Thanks to their efforts, some of the underground contact points were quickly restored. Zhou Wenyong also disguised himself as a coolie, found the backbone of the trade union, and prepared to reorganize everyone to continue the struggle.
Just as everything was going well, someone reported to the reactionaries, and the police immediately dispatched to arrest people in the "home". After Chen Tiejun heard the movement, he hurriedly let his sister Chen Tie'er escape from the balcony, and she moved the flowerpot by the window sill in an attempt to convey a message to Zhou Wenyong, who had not returned from the window. As a result, Zhou Wenyong did not see the signal when he returned, and as soon as he stepped through the door, he was arrested, and the two were imprisoned together. Fortunately, at this time, important documents had already been transferred or destroyed by them, and the enemy had made the room a mistake and had not obtained a single piece of useful information.
Guangzhou Uprising oil painting
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="108" > wedding on the execution ground</h1>
The enemy knew that Zhou Wenyong had escaped once, and this time he learned his lesson by not only adding multiple shackles to him, but also arranging for him to be placed in a single cell in a special prison and sent to monitor him day and night. In order to obtain intelligence, Zhu Huiri, director of the enemy public security bureau, personally interrogated him, and in the face of torture such as "interjecting fingers" and "tiger stools," Zhou Wenyong clenched his teeth and refused to reveal half a word, even if he passed out many times, he resolutely did not yield.
Chen Tiejun's encounter in the women's prison is the same, but her original intention of changing her name has not changed, no matter what, she will not do anything to betray the revolution, the only thing she can not rest assured is her "husband" Zhou Wenyong.
When the enemy saw that torture could not soften their hard bones, he changed it to inducement, promising that as long as they spoke out, the high-ranking officials and freedom would be easily obtained, but the two remained unmoved.
Therefore, the reactionaries forced Zhou Wenyong to write a "letter of self-surrender.", and after Zhou Wenyong took the pen, he wrote down the crimes of the reactionaries one by one, and finally he was particularly unhappy, and he also wrote an impassioned poem on the wall of the prison: "The head can be broken, the limbs can be broken, and the revolutionary spirit is indestructible." The head of the strong man is the party fall, and the body of the good man is a group of cracks. ”
This poem is a true portrayal of his indomitable face to the enemy.
The enemy tried everything in his power to pry open the mouths of the two men, so he became angry and decided to sentence the two men to death. Zhou Wenyong had been running between workers and peasants for the revolution for a long time, and most people in Guangzhou knew him, so at the time of the trial, the enemy used torture to cover up himself and gave him a half-old suit. In the courtroom, Zhou Wenyong was not afraid in the face of the enemy's slander, and even used the court as a forum for propagating the revolution, telling everyone that the workers and peasants would be liberated and the revolution would be victorious!
At the time of the sentencing, the judge asked Zhou Wenyong what he wanted, and Zhou Wenyong remembered Chen Tiejun, the two people pretended to be "husband and wife" for work reasons, and their hearts had changed for a long time, but for the sake of the revolutionary cause, both of them silently stopped on the line of comradely relations, and now they were going to go to the execution ground together, and Zhou Wenyong offered to take a photo with her.
The enemy acceded to his request and took the photographer inside the prison to take pictures. In a clearing in his cell, Zhou Wenyong and Chen Tiejun stood side by side, looking at each other as they had done in the past when they were fighting for the revolution. With a "click", they left the only double photo in the world as a farewell souvenir for the party and comrades. Later, this group photo was published in the newspaper, which moved many comrades.
And this is also their only "wedding photo".
On the morning of February 6, the reactionaries took the two men to the Honghuagang execution ground in a hand-pulled cart. Along the way, the two were not afraid, but instead shouted loudly" "Down with the new warlords of the Kuomintang", "Down with imperialism", "Long live the Communist Party of China"! More and more people gathered on both sides of the road, impressed by their fearless spirit. Fearing an accident, the reactionaries deployed many troops on both sides of the road to prevent the masses from approaching.
After arriving at Honghuagang, Zhou Wenyong stood on a small grave and continued to call on everyone: "Compatriots! Our Communist Party wants to overthrow the new warlords, to overthrow imperialism, and to build a new China free of oppression and exploitation. Now they're going to kill us. Our Communist Party cannot be killed or intimidated! ”
When the enemy saw the situation, he quickly pulled him down, and who knew that Chen Tiejun walked up quickly and said something unforgettable.
Chen Tiejun looked at Zhou Wenyong and said, "Everyone thinks that Wenyong and I are husband and wife, but in fact we are just comrades, because the revolution needs, we pretend to be husband and wife." But to help each other at work, and even to experience life and death together, now that we have dedicated our youth and lives to the Party, I announce to you that we are going to have a wedding here, and let the gunshots of the reactionaries be the salute for our marriage! ”
After saying that, she walked over to Zhou Wenyong and motioned for the executioner to shoot. The reactionaries did not miss any opportunity, and an officer removed the wooden stick on Chen Tiejun's body and carried out a final abduction of her.
Chen Tiejun took a bite and said, "You don't want to get any news from my mouth!" ”
After speaking, Chen Tiejun sorted out the collar for Zhou Wenyong again, and Zhou Wenyong took out the uprising red neck scarf that he had been treasured close to, tied it to Chen Tiejun's neck, and then pulled up the corner of her scarf and put it on his shoulder. The two men pressed close together and sang the international song loudly: "Rise, hungry and cold slaves..."
With the sound of two gunshots, the song suddenly stopped, and the chests of the two exploded two blood flowers and fell to the ground. Taking advantage of the fact that he still had strength, Zhou Wenyong struggled to sit up and shouted loudly: "Comrades, the revolution is to the end!" ”
Honghuagang used to be their battlefield, and now it has become their wedding hall and execution ground. They showed everyone the power of faith and love with their own practical actions.
In 1980, the film "Wedding on the Execution Ground", which was filmed based on the experiences of the two, was released and resonated with audiences across the country. Everyone also deeply understands that today's happy life is created by countless revolutionaries who have firm convictions and dedicated themselves to ideals and justice, and we must never forget the sacrifices of our predecessors.