At the first session of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference held in September 1949, when Zhou Enlai met Chen Mingren, his first words were: "Do you remember me?" When I attacked Huizhou more than twenty years ago, I saluted you with a gun. ”
Zhou Enlai's remarks were quite surprising. You must know that Chen Mingren was only a lieutenant general at that time, and he was not a top general in the Kuomintang, not even a first-class one.
From Chiang Kai-shek's "looking up to Chen Mingren" and "you are not a good division commander" to Chairman Mao's "Lin Biao is not as good as you in fighting a war" and "From now on, the People's Liberation Army has food to eat, you will have food to eat", Chen Mingren's road from Rong for several years has not been easy...
On April 7, 1903, in Chenjialing, Hongyuan Village, Hongyuan Township, Liling City, Hunan Province, a newborn fell to the ground, just like an ordinary peasant family, this newborn grew up healthy and safe, he was Chen Mingren.
Although there is no special family background, the family has been a farmer facing the loess and facing the sky for generations, but Chen Mingren's parents have always been extra serious about education. Chen Mingren was sent by his parents to a private school to study from an early age, and later attended a local primary school. After several years of schooling, he was successfully admitted to Changsha Tui ze Middle School in 1920.
Chen Mingren, who returned from his studies, worked as a teacher in a private school in the countryside, but as time went on, he became deeply aware that being a literati could not save a decadent China.
After a long period of thinking, Chen Mingren decided to throw himself into the construction of the country and strive for a peaceful and prosperous world that the people wanted, which was also the ambition of his youth.
At the end of 1923, Dr. Sun Yat-sen prepared for the Northern Expedition and founded the Lecture Hall in Guangzhou. Late one night, Chen Mingren bid farewell to his father, carried a small bag alone, and secretly walked out of the house in the night, smelling the familiar smell of his hometown and looking at the sky full of stars.
Chen Mingren's heart was full of mixed feelings, and he couldn't say whether he was happy or sad, but he felt ashamed of his family, his elderly grandmother and Wen Wanxianshu's wife Xie Fangru.
Chen Mingren was admitted to the Guangzhou Military and Political Ministry's Lecture School as he wished, and in November of the same year, Dr. Sun Yat-sen listened to the suggestions of the Communists and founded the famous Whampoa Military Academy under the policy of the United Russian Communist Party, and Chen Mingren became a student of the first phase of Whampoa. He became a classmate with Xu Xiangqian, Chen Geng, Zuo Quan, Du Yuming, Hu Zongnan, and so on, and so on, and began his own military career.
In 1925, Chen Mingren graduated and participated in two crusades. During the Battle of Dongguan, Chen Mingren charged with illness, led a platoon to eliminate Chen Jiongming's battalion, and was promoted to company commander by the line of fire. During the Battle of Huizhou, Chen Mingren led the Death Captain to the first to ascend the city tower. At the post-war celebration meeting, Principal Jiang ordered the cannon to be fired three times, and all the officers and men raised their guns to salute him and were promoted to battalion commander.
This battle brought out the prestige of the Whampoa students, and even Chiang Kai-shek took the lead in chanting "Learn from Chen Mingren."
Principal Jiang devoted himself to cultivating him, asking Song Meiling to be a matchmaker and giving him Liao Zhongkai's daughter Liao Mengxing. Chen Mingren bluntly told him that the family had a "wife of chaff" and two sons who served the old mother, and they could not be Chen Shimei under any circumstances. After a few days, he also took his wife and children to his side.
Principal Jiang had no choice but to give up, but he was deeply impressed by Chen Mingren, who had a hard neck.
In 1931, at the age of 28, Chen Mingren became the brigade commander of the Third Independent Brigade, the first to be awarded the rank of general in the first phase of Whampoa. The Independent Third Brigade was under the jurisdiction of the Kuomintang 3rd Division, and the division commander, Chen Yousan, was a former instructor at the Whampoa Military Academy, and in the battle against the warlord Shi Yousan, Chen Mingren did not listen to Chen Yousan's command, and personally led the whole brigade to a fierce battle with Shi Yousan's main force at Juluzhuang, Hebei. On his own, he defeated two infantry divisions and a cavalry division of Shi Yousan, and the commander-in-chief of the front line of Shi Yousan's unit also took Chen Mingren prisoner.
Although the Huangpu clan will be reused by Lao Jiang, Chen Mingren has repeatedly confronted Lao Jiang, resulting in him being promoted and secretly surrendered by Ming. Unlike the sneakers, Chen Mingren did not care about these things, he had no intention of studying the art of sneaking horses, and chose to devote himself to the study of the military. After following the expeditionary army to participate in the Battle of Western Yunnan, he led his army across the Nu River and broke through the Fortress of Songshan in one fell swoop, which was a shock for a while. With the continuous rise of military merit, until he was promoted to the commander of the corps, and was awarded the Order of the Blue Sky and white sun. But before long, he was accused of arsonists grabbing food, so he was dismissed.
In June 1947, Chen Mingren received chiang kai-shek's order: Even if the whole army is destroyed, I must defend Siping. At this point, the four-level battle of battle that resounded at home and abroad was launched.
Chen Mingren relied on a mere 17,000 Kuomintang non-elite troops, including a full division composed of recruits, facing a five-fold siege of the People's Liberation Army, or under the command of a famous marshal like Lin Biao, he actually held out for more than half a month in the street battle, and also caused 13,000 casualties to Lin Biao's main force.
This kind of battle result is simply a miracle of the Kuomintang army.
In July of the same year, Du Yuming, the commander of the Northeast Security Command, was once again angry with Lin Biao's "haunted, loud east and west" style of play, and he was once again admitted to the hospital.
In order to leave this place of right and wrong as soon as possible, he submitted his resignation to Chiang one after another on the grounds of medical treatment. Chiang Kai-shek could not refuse, and could only agree, and instead Chen Cheng, chief of staff of the Ministry of National Defense, would be appointed as the director of the Northeast Expedition.
Chen Cheng's first thing in the northeast was not military deployment, but to rectify corruption. The first person he took to open the knife was Chen Mingren, commander of the 71st Army. He charged Chen Mingren with embezzling military grain. In fact, these military food was taken in bags to build fortifications, and naturally could not be recovered after gunfire and shelling.
Chen Mingren was naturally unable to be convinced of this "false accusation", which indirectly led to his and Cheng's potential Changsha uprising and throwing themselves into the red camp.
On September 3, 1949, Chen Mingren went to Beijing at the invitation of Chairman Mao to attend the first national cppcc meeting as a special representative. During the meeting, Chairman Mao invited Cheng Qian, Chen Mingren, and others to visit the Temple of Heaven.
Soon after, Chairman Mao invited Chen Mingren to dinner, and during the two of them' dinner, Chen Mingren mentioned to Chairman Mao the previous Siping Campaign, indicating that he felt very guilty about the mistakes he had committed against the people.
After hearing this, Chairman Mao hurriedly waved his hand and said, "When the two armies are fighting each other, each is its own master!" I don't think Lin Biao is as good as you when he fights! ”
On October 1, Chen Mingren, together with Cheng Qian and other uprising generals and famous patriotic democrats, ascended to the Tiananmen Gate Observatory to celebrate the founding ceremony.
Xie Fangru died of illness in 1950. In the last moments before her death, Chen Mingren stood by her hospital bed, tears flowing. It is said that boys have tears and do not flick, but how can the pain of losing their beloved wife be easily endured. Chen Mingren wrote a tombstone for his deceased wife: The Tomb of My Wife Xie Fangru.
After the loss of his beloved wife, he knelt on his knees at the memorial service, cried and read the elegy he had written for his wife, and couldn't sleep all night, crying for three days and three nights.
During the Korean War, Chen Mingren wanted to take his troops to North Korea. However, Guangxi had just been liberated, and the remnants of the Kuomintang colluded with the bandits to create a very chaotic situation.
Chairman Mao sent Chen Mingren's 21st Corps, of which he was commander, into Guangxi to suppress bandits.
Chen Mingren, as a battlefield general, meticulously commanded and finally completed the task of his superiors.
The hard bone of the Guangxi bandits was finally gnawed away, and Chairman Mao's two happy commendations encouraged the victory of the Guangxi bandits.
In 1955, Chen Mingren was awarded the rank of general of the People's Liberation Army and the Order of Liberation of the First Class.
He said with emotion: "In the thirty years since I joined the army, I was awarded the rank of general for the first time, and I am very grateful to the Communist Party and the People's Liberation Army for their trust and care for me..."
In 1972, Chen Mingren fell ill with cancer and was admitted to the General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army for treatment. Zhou Enlai and Ye Jianying were very concerned about Chen Mingren's condition, personally inquired about the treatment plan, and did everything they could to save his life.
Chen Mingren was deeply moved, and on his deathbed, he instructed his wife to resolutely follow the party and left a will to hand over all the gold and silver (equivalent to 16,000 yuan) stored in the family to the state.
On May 21, 1974, the toiling and excellent general died at the age of 71.
In 1985, the staff of the Hunan Provincial Museum went to collect historical materials from various places, and they went to the small building where General Chen Mingren lived before his death, hoping to collect some relics. After explaining his intentions, Xiao Yi, the widow of General Chen Mingren, gave great understanding and support. She agreed to donate a number of precious relics, including the general's dress jacket, top hat and certificate of the People's Republic of China Liberation Medal and Medal of The People's Republic of China first class when he was awarded the title of Chen Mingren in 1955.
Later, in her chat with the staff, she recalled and told some past events, and when she was in love, she said with deep affection: "Ziliang is very grateful to Chairman Mao!" ”