At the end of 1941, the War of Resistance Against Japan was in the most difficult stage of strategic stalemate. General Zhang Zhen, then chief of staff of the 4th Division of the New Fourth Army, set out from the Huaibei District Party Committee garrison and passed through the enemy's heavy blockade line to the Sudong area.
General Zhang Zhen had two tasks: First, to convey the instructions of the central authorities and the Huaibei District Party Committee to the party, government, and army cadres in Sudong; and second, to inspect local work.
On November 18, General Zhang Zhen held a meeting at Xiaoqinzhuang (小秦庄, in present-day Zhongxing Township, Guzhen County, Anhui Province) on the south bank of the Tuo River in Suling County. At the meeting, we not only analyzed the situation between the enemy and ourselves, but also affirmed our positive performance in the struggle, and at the same time put forward requirements for the direction of the next work.
The atmosphere of the meeting was very warm, the participants were highly motivated, and the meeting lasted until nightfall.
Considering that everyone had been staying in Xiaoqinzhuang for a long time, and staying any longer might attract the attention of the enemy, Yao Yunliang, commander of the Sudong guerrilla detachment, proposed to General Zhang Zhen that the team be transferred to Shengxuzi, 10 kilometers away.
General Zhang Zhen thought about it and felt that Yao Yunliang's proposal was not unreasonable, so he immediately led the team and began to move. The original 10-kilometer journey, according to the speed of our army's march, should be able to reach it very quickly. However, because it was already dark and the road was unfamiliar, the 10 kilometers were walked for more than 4 hours. It wasn't until the early hours of the morning that they arrived at Shengweizi.
However, when he arrived at Shengxuzi, General Zhang Zhen encountered an "unexpected" situation. At that time, he and more than a dozen soldiers knocked on the door of a family and wanted to stay, but after knocking on the door for half a day, no one came to open the door.
In fact, this can not blame the local people, mainly everyone is scared. Shengxuzi is close to the railway, and there are always Japanese troops stationed along the line, and they often come to the village to search for trouble, making everyone's life miserable. Especially not long ago, after General Peng Xuefeng led the New Fourth Army to pass through this neighborhood, the Japanese army increased its search efforts. In order to find out who is a "communist" element, the Japanese army will sometimes pretend to be the New Fourth Army to knock on the door, and once anyone opens the door, then the family will suffer.
It is precisely because of this that General Zhang Zhen knocked on the door so late to stay, and the family did not dare to open the door.
At this time, in the room separated by a wall, the male and female owners of this house are also hesitating, whether to open the door or not? The man of this house is called Sheng Weifan, the hostess is called Kong Xiuying, and the two have just married. Thinking about it, Kong Xiuying still decided to open the door, because she had heard her brother say about such a night stay. Her brother joined the guerrillas of the New Fourth Army in his early years, and often went to his hometown like this.
When Kong Xiuying had the courage to open the door, he saw a dozen people in gray military uniforms standing outside the door, led by a tall thin young man who looked very heroic. The other party should have seen the big red "hi" word posted on the door, smiled and said: "It turned out to alarm the bride, I'm really sorry to bother." ”
This tall thin young man was none other than General Zhang Zhen, but due to the need for secrecy, he did not explain his identity to Kong Xiuying and his wife.
Kong Xiuying's family is not large, except for the new house, there is only a side house on the west side. Originally, General Zhang Zhen and the soldiers wanted to squeeze together in the side room and spend the night together. However, Kong Xiuying did not agree at all, her brother was the New Fourth Army, similar to the age of these fighters, and she did not want and did not want these fighters to be wronged. So she arranged some of the soldiers in the side room, and the other part was arranged in her new house to lay the floor.
The warriors had been busy all day, and with the night march at night, they were all exhausted, so they quickly fell asleep. But no one ever thought that at the Japanese position 5 kilometers away from Shengxuzi, a strange thing in the village had been discovered at this time.
Our army rushed all the way from Xiaoqinzhuang to Shengxuzi, although everyone was cautious and did not make any big moves. But there are dogs in the villages along the way, and there are people who pass by and bark all the time. After General Zhang Zhen and the soldiers came to Shengxuzi, many people in the village lit up their lights.
These situations were naturally taken into account by the Japanese strongholds not far away, so the next morning, they organized troops to come to Shengweizi to investigate the situation.
At that time, the genius was blinding, and General Zhang Zhen and the soldiers had not yet gotten up. However, the diligent Kong Xiuying had already risen, and it was the first day of the tenth month of the lunar calendar, and according to local customs, every household had to dismantle and wash the quilt. So after Kong Xiuying got up, he crept out of the house and prepared to move a little firewood to the firewood stack at the head of the village, make breakfast for the soldiers of the New Fourth Army for a while, and then remove and wash the quilt later.
But when Kong Xiuying came to the vicinity of the firewood pile, there was a sudden sound of "booming" in his ears. The sound came from the south, and it was getting louder. Kong Xiuying was thinking about what sound it was, and she looked south to find out. This look is not good, only to see a row of snow lights piercing the morning fog to the mouth of the village, it turned out to be a car.
Kong Xiuying thought about it and suddenly realized that the New Fourth Army did not have cars, and this must be the devil's convoy! Chai He in her arms instantly fell to the ground, and she immediately turned around and ran to the village, shouting while running: "The devil is coming!" Here comes the devil! Hurry up! Hurry up! ”
The soldier in charge of the sentry hiding in the tree in the southwest corner of the village heard Kong Xiuying's shouting, and also saw the ghost's convoy and hurriedly fired a gun to call the police. The sound of the gun broke the early morning silence, but also made the devils notice him, and began to shoot at the trees, and the soldier in charge of the sentry was sacrificed.
When Kong Xiuying arrived at home, he saw that the fighters who had been awakened by the sound of gunfire had already emerged from the house and began to prepare for a counterattack under the command of the guerrilla detachment leader Yao Yunliang. But Kong Xiuying did not see the tall thin warrior last night, she remembered that the other party had made a floor in the new house last night, so she hurried into the new house.
This look can be anxious for Kong Xiuying, General Zhang Zhen may be too tired, at this moment he was not woken up, still sleeping. She stood by the big cupboard and shouted, "Rise! Hurry up! Here comes the devil! ”
General Zhang Zhen was awakened by the shouting, suddenly turned over, pulled out his gun and drilled out of the room to meet the enemy. However, the enemy was so numerous and so strong that they had the advantage of firepower, and the soldiers of our army fought back with all their might, and there was no way to repel the enemy, on the contrary, they were getting closer and closer to the courtyard.
Now there is only one road left in front of General Zhang Zhen and the soldiers, that is: the breakthrough. But where to break out? The big guys were only here last night, they were not familiar with the nearby terrain, and the situation of the enemy outside was not clear, and they didn't know where to break through.
At this critical moment, Kong Xiuying made a bold decision. She didn't think anything of it, grabbed General Zhang Zhen and ran outside the door, shouting as she ran: "All follow." ”
After leading General Zhang Zhen and the soldiers out of the house, she ran all the way west along the courtyard wall. Without running far, a small alley appeared in front of everyone, kong Xiuying stopped and said to the soldiers: "Run all the way along the hutong, over the polder, over a reed beach, and then along a small ditch, less than a mile to the Tuo River, once you cross the arid Tuo River, the enemy's car will not be able to catch up." ”
At that time, the situation was urgent, and General Zhang Zhen did not bother to ask Kong Xiuying's name, but only told her: "The gunfire is too tight, you go back to the house." After that, General Zhang Zhen led more than a dozen soldiers and followed the route pointed out by Kong Xiuying and rushed out of the enemy's encirclement.
After General Zhang Zhen and the others broke through, the angry enemy rushed into the village and searched back and forth three times. Not only that, but they also wanted to interrogate the villagers and wanted to learn the whereabouts of our army from the villagers. But none of these villagers gave in, and they all looked at the devil coldly, saying only that they did not know.
When night fell, the villagers collected the remains of the martyrs, and a total of 31 people died heroically, including 18 soldiers from the guard company and 13 local cadres.
After this incident, Kong Xiuying's life returned to calm. She did not know the names of the soldiers she had saved, and rarely mentioned her experience of saving people, but she just lived her life seriously. What she didn't know, however, was that the tall thin warrior had never forgotten her.
After this dangerous situation, General Zhang Zhen continued his revolutionary career in the southern conquest of the northern war, and in 1955, after the founding of New China, he was awarded the rank of lieutenant general. But he has always had a wish, that is, he must go to Shengxuzi to see, to see the comrades who died that year, and also to see the "bride" who saved himself, ask her name, and thank her in person.
It was only because of his busy work that General Zhang Zhen did not take time out. It was not until 1981, 40 years after the Shengweizi incident, that General Zhang Zhen was 67 years old, and he finally had time to fulfill his wish. So accompanied by his son, General Zhang Zhen went all the way south and finally came to Suzhou again.
Although the boats and cars were tired all the way, General Zhang Zhen was unwilling to delay for a moment. After arriving in Suzhou, he did not rest, so he let the local cadres take him straight to Shengweizi, a moment he had waited for too many years.
40 years later, the Shengweizi at this time is no longer the original appearance, when the villagers still live in the dilapidated huts, and now many families live in new houses with green tiles and red walls. General Zhang Zhen was also full of thoughts for a while, but the original matter was too long, and he could not remember the specific location of Kong Xiuying's family, so he asked the villagers in the village.
Under the leadership of the villagers, General Zhang Zhen finally came to the door of Kong Xiuying's house. Only at this time, Kong Xiuying's family has changed greatly, the side house of that year has been demolished, and the large courtyard has also become a small courtyard. He walked slowly into the room, looked around, and suddenly a familiar thing came into his sight. This thing was the Big Standing Cabinet, and General Zhang Zhen clearly remembered that Kong Xiuying was standing next to it to wake him up.
At this time, Kong Xiuying was doing housework behind the house, and when she heard someone coming from home, she immediately returned home. As soon as she entered the door, she saw a group of strangers, but the old man who was the leader of this group of strangers gave her an inexplicable sense of familiarity, as if she had seen it somewhere, and she couldn't help but look at it carefully.
This old man was General Zhang Zhen. When Kong Xiuying was looking at him, he was also looking at Kong Xiuying, and the elderly lady in front of him could faintly see the outline of the bride at that time. However, General Zhang Zhen was not sure, so he asked tentatively, "Do you know about the (firefight)?" ”
What happened that day, although Kong Xiuying rarely mentioned it to outsiders, she never forgot it, and when she heard people talk about it, she couldn't help but reply: "I know." It was the evening of september 30 in the old calendar, the first day of October. I remember very clearly that according to the custom here, the quilt should be removed and washed on the first day of October. ”
General Zhang Zhen asked again, "Is there anything in front of your house?" ”
Although the family has changed greatly, Kong Xiuying, who used to have the layout of the doorway of the house, would not know, so he replied decisively: "There is a big locust tree at the door, and there is a big stone trough under the tree." ”
After General Zhang Zhen listened, he was basically sure that the old woman in front of him was the bride who saved himself that year. But out of prudence, he said, "My horse is hanging from your house's stone trough," and pulled an old notebook out of his bag.
Afraid that he could not remember the events of that year, General Zhang Zhen wrote down the details of this past in a notebook. As he flipped through his notebook, he asked, "I was woken up by someone shouting, do you know who the person who called me was?" ”
When Kong Xiuying heard this, she also knew that the person in front of her was the young chief she had woken up. So she immediately replied, "It's me." ”
General Zhang Zhen continued to ask, "Where did you stand and shout?" ”
Kong Xiuying replied: "Stand in front of the big standing cabinet." ”
General Zhang Zhen asked again, "How did you shout?" ”
Kong Xiuying replied: "I shouted: Up! Hurry up! Here comes the devil! ”
General Zhang Zhen listened to Kong Xiuying's answer, and carefully looked at the records in his notebook, and all these details were correct. After 40 years, he finally found her. General Zhang Zhen said excitedly, "The person you are shouting at is me." You also pointed the way and told me to run north. If you hadn't saved me, I would have lived to this day!" ”
Kong Xiuying was also very excited to hear General Zhang Zhen's words, and she did not expect that the person she saved 40 years ago would appear in front of her.
The two talked a lot, during which General Zhang Zhen suddenly remembered something that was 40 years late, that is, he forgot to ask the bride's name. So this time, General Zhang Zhen specifically asked Kong Xiuying's name, and after getting the answer, he carefully wrote down the three words "Kong Xiuying" in his notebook.
After the end of the recounting, accompanied by Kong Xiuying's husband Sheng Weifan, General Zhang Zhen came to the southwest of the village again. The martyrs who died in that year were buried here. Looking at the tombs standing quietly in front of him, General Zhang Zhen's heart was also sentimental, and the tears couldn't help but soak his eyes, murmuring, "We... Already happy, you guys... But it lies here. ”
After standing in front of the martyr's tomb for a long time, General Zhang Zhen slowly turned around and proposed to the local person in charge behind him: "It would be good to build a martyrs' monument." ”
In fact, until this time, Kong Xiuying and the villagers did not know the true identity of General Zhang Zhen. It was not until General Zhang Zhen left Shengxuzi to return to Beijing, and the local newspaper in Suxian County reported the news of General Zhang Zhen's arrival, and Kong Xiuying and the villagers knew that the old man who looked inconspicuous was actually Zhang Zhen, the founding lieutenant general.
Soon after, Kong Xiuying's husband, Sheng Weifan, came to Beijing to look for General Zhang Zhen. This time, he did not come for something for himself or his family, but with an important task.
General Zhang Zhen's remark that "it would be good to build a martyrs' monument" was taken seriously by the local government and began to prepare for this matter after he left. But the words on the tombstone, they hope to find a person of high moral standing to write. General Zhang Zhen, as the old chief of these martyrs who sacrificed their lives, was written by him, which was most appropriate. Therefore, this figure who asked General Zhang Zhen to write an inscription fell on Sheng Weifan's head.
After General Zhang Zhen learned of Sheng Weifan's intentions, he gladly inscribed the "Shengwei Battle Martyrs Monument". When Sheng Weifan returned, General Zhang Zhen also warmly invited: "Next time, you are welcome to come back with the 'bride'." ”
After the completion of the martyrs' cemetery, four reception rooms were built behind the door. Kong Xiuying and his wife stayed here to guard the tomb and guard these heroic martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the country. Every year, many people come here to mourn these martyrs.
And the friendship between General Zhang Zhen and Kong Xiuying's family has never been broken. Later, Kong Xiuying and his wife went to Beijing many times, and every time General Zhang Zhen would receive them warmly, when he was free, he would personally accompany Kong Xiuying and his wife to visit Beijing, and when he was busy, he would also arrange staff to receive them.
In 1999, General Zhang Zhen was 85 years old, and he missed his fathers and fellow countrymen and those comrades who sacrificed their lives in the anti-Japanese base areas, so he wanted to see it again. The family persuaded several times, after all, General Zhang Zhen was old and not suitable for boat and car labor. However, General Zhang Zhen insisted on going, and his family could not help him, so they could only accompany him to Shengxuzi again.
At this time, the martyrs' cemetery had long been completed, and looking at the newly renovated martyrs' cemetery, General Zhang Zhen was very satisfied. In front of the martyr's tomb, he bowed deeply three times with tears to those comrades who had sacrificed. Before leaving, he also donated 4,000 yuan to the cemetery as a cost for the maintenance of the cemetery.
In 2007, kong Xiuying died at the age of 88, and General Zhang Zhen, who was far away in Beijing, heard about it and sent a condolence telegram. At this time, it had been 66 years since he first met Kong Xiuying.
In the 66 Spring and Autumn Period, he never forgot Kong Xiuying's life-saving grace, never forgot Sheng Weizi's father and fellow countrymen, and never forgot the comrades-in-arms who sacrificed in this hot land.
With this article, I would like to commemorate the friendship between General Zhang Zhen and the elderly Kong Xiuying across time, and also to commemorate those revolutionary martyrs who braved thorns and thorns for the founding of New China. This is a prosperous world, as you wish.