Originally the commander of the Kuomintang 60th Army, he later became the commander of the 50th Army of the People's Liberation Army, and was awarded the rank of founding lieutenant general in 1955. In the history of the volunteer army, Zeng Zesheng can be called one of the most legendary military commanders.
During the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, he was praised by Peng Dehuai: "I want to bow to the comrades of your army, you are real heroes of the people and heroes of battle." ”
After returning to China, Chairman Mao also made a special effort to talk to Zeng Zesheng alone. When talking about the Korean battlefield, the chairman praised him: "You fought quite beautifully on the Korean battlefield. But after this meeting, when he returned home, he suddenly said to his family: "I can't stay in Beijing for a day, and I want to leave immediately!" ”
Zeng Zesheng, a former Kuomintang general, used his life experience to interpret the completely different attitudes and living spaces of life under the two systems. Why did Peng Dehuai give Zeng Zesheng and the troops he led such high praise and evaluation? And after being met alone by Chairman Mao, why did Zeng Zesheng want to leave Beijing eagerly?
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="5" > second military service</h1>
Zeng Zesheng was born in October 1902 in a remote village in Yongshan County, Yunnan Province, but in his file, the family members column was filled in with the word "landlord". Later, when he recalled it himself, he said: "[My family] is a big family, with a population of thirty or forty people, and hundreds of acres of land. When I was at home as a child, I felt that my family life was rich. ”
However, Zeng Zesheng's happiness did not last forever, and his father died soon after, and the family began to rely on the family's supplies to continue to live. This also led to Zeng Zesheng's 13-year-old, with the help of his uncle, to study in Zhaotong, more than 100 kilometers away from home. As a result, in 1921, the family stopped providing zeng Zesheng with the cost of continuing his studies.
At that time, Zeng Zesheng was 18 years old, he was eager to study, but he achieved nothing, so he stole 200 silver dollars from his family and prepared to leave, but he was arrested and taken back, and the silver dollars were also taken away. But Zeng Zesheng still insisted on leaving home, and desperately protested to his family and asked to enter middle school.
Under such a struggle, Zeng Zesheng only won the opportunity to enter Kunming Middle School for one year. The following year, that is, in December 1922, Zeng Zesheng had no choice but to abandon his studies and join the army and was admitted to the non-commissioned officer team run by Tang Jiyao in Yunnan. After graduating here, he entered the Yunnan Daowu Hall without exams with excellent results.
In 1925, Zeng Zesheng transferred to the Whampoa Military Academy in Guangzhou and served as the leader of the third phase of the Whampoa Military Academy. In August, Zeng Zesheng was transferred to the 2nd Regiment (later renamed the 60th Regiment of the 20th Division) as a company commander. However, because he was not accustomed to the corrupt habits of the commanders and soldiers in the army, most of them only knew how to eat, drink and have fun, and did not care about the camp at all, so he quickly chose to resign from the position of company commander and return to the Whampoa Military Academy as the leader of the student team.
In January 1927, Zeng Zesheng entered the senior class of the Whampoa Military Academy. In September, Zeng Zesheng left the Whampoa Military Academy after graduation and was transferred to the headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army. In March 1928, Zeng Zesheng was appointed major captain of the officer corps of the Fifth Division of the Kuomintang Army. But not long after, Zeng Zesheng resigned from the military position again because he was unwilling to join the gang and become a corrupt soldier, and chose to go to Shanghai with pan Shuoduan, a fellow villager in Yunnan, planning to be admitted to the automobile school to learn mechanics and driving, and engage in transportation.
This was the first time That Zeng Zesheng had left the Kuomintang army, and Qiao Jingxuan, who had served as a lieutenant to Major Zeng Zesheng, later recalled the reasons for his departure from the army: "He (Zeng Zesheng) lived a relatively frugal life, packing a mattress and a quilt, an old suitcase with small clothes, a spare small medicine box, and a small bamboo box containing books. Clothes don't break or add. He doesn't smoke, he doesn't drink, he doesn't play cards, he doesn't dance, he's very moral. ”
In the autumn of 1929, Long Yun unified Yunnan by force, and subsequently directly served as the chairman of Yunnan Province. In order to continue to expand his own power, Long Yun also sent Lu Junquan to Shanghai, Nanjing, and other places to recruit military cadres. Zeng Zesheng, Pan Shuoduan and more than 20 other people were recruited to Yunnan, and in this way, Zeng Zesheng once again began his military career.
During his service in the Dian Army, Zeng Zesheng first served as a company commander of the Dian Army, and soon became a battalion commander, and finally directly promoted to deputy regimental commander of the Fifth Regiment of the Third Brigade of the Dian Army.
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, as a soldier, Zeng Zesheng was bent on serving the country and defending the dignity of the nation. Soon, Long Yun decided to send 200,000 troops to form the Kuomintang 60th Army and go to the front to resist the enemy. Zeng Zesheng also began to go to the front with the army, and he was appointed as the commander of the 105th Regiment of the 184th Division of the 60th Army.
In mid-April 1938, the 60th Army was ordered to reinforce Xuzhou and participate in the Battle of Taierzhuang. In this battle, the warriors fought with rifles and machine guns, blew up with grenades, and even fought directly with the enemy. After the first line of defense was breached, it retreated to the second line of defense to continue to resist, and after defeating the enemy, it counterattacked and recaptured the lost front-line positions.
The 105th Regiment under the command of Zeng Zesheng was ordered to defend Yuwang Mountain, the commanding heights of Taierzhuangdong, and desperately resisted the enemy's offensive. It was precisely because of their bravery and tenacity, and the bloody struggle that they fought one after another, not only made it impossible for the enemy army with heavy losses to break through the defensive lines of Yuwang Mountain and Taierzhuang, but also gradually made the enemy army afraid of them. Some media once reported at the scene of the battle: "Since the beginning of the war, it is rare to encounter a fierce reunion of the Dian army. ”
After that, Zeng Zesheng led his troops to participate in the Defense of Wuhan, the Battle of Chongyang, the Battle of Nanchang, and the Battle of Changsha. In September 1940, the enemy began to invade the Yunnan border. Under these circumstances, the 60th Army did not hesitate and was immediately ordered to return to Yunnan.
In November, based on the 60th Army, the General Headquarters of the First Group Army was established in Kunming, Yunnan, and Zeng Zesheng was promoted to deputy commander of the 184th Division, and later served as the commander of the division. In 1945, after eight years of bloody struggle, the people of Chinese finally ushered in the victory of the War of Resistance.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="70" > rush to the light</h1>
In March 1946, Zeng Zesheng was promoted to commander of the 60th Army, and in mid-April, he led the 60th Army to the northeast, first deployed at Anshan. But what made Zeng Ze angry was that the troops were all placed along the railway line, and some stations had only one platoon or even one squad of defensive troops, and the troops were too scattered, and it was easy to be eaten by the PLA one by one.
Despite his inner dissatisfaction and pain, Zeng Zesheng commanded the troops to fight against the People's Liberation Army. At that time, Zeng Zesheng had a strong blind obedience to Chiang Kai-shek, thinking that Chiang Kai-shek still had the Whampoa Military Academy and millions of troops, plus he had been cultivated by the warlords of Yunnan in the past, and he had a deep ideological feeling and stake with Long Yun and others. Under such a relationship of dependence on each other, Zeng Zesheng has been bound. Not long after, the 184th Division staged an uprising. The uprising was a big blow to Zeng Zesheng and made him worry about his future.
In June, the 184th Division was rebuilt again, and with the Fact that the People's Liberation Army changed its policy and voluntarily abandoned changchun, Jilin and other important cities, Zeng Zesheng's confidence suddenly returned.
However, the good times did not last long, and troubles and worries followed. In early 1947, the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army of the People's Liberation Army adopted the tactic of "you fight yours, I fight mine", and in early March, it made a surprise attack on Hailong, and in less than two months, it annihilated the strength of a regiment of the 60th Army. On May 25, the People's Liberation Army attacked Meihe, and the two sides fought fiercely for 5 days and 5 nights, so that the 184th Division, which had been rebuilt for less than a year, was once again completely annihilated.
For a long time afterward, Zeng Zesheng's mood was very low, and he also fidgeted and fell into great pain. Less than a year after coming to the northeast, he watched as the 60th Army suffered three heavy blows, suffered heavy losses, and suffered serious injuries.
Just when the hearts of the people in the army were shaken and there was a shortage of food and ammunition, Zhang Chong, the elder of the Dian Army and zeng Zesheng's old superior, together with Pan Shuoduan, the commander of the 184th Division of the former 60th Army, wrote a letter to Zeng Zesheng, urging him to clearly understand the essence of Chiang Kai-shek, not to follow him to continue to fight the civil war, to make a decision at the moment, and to take the road of uprising.
Is it an uprising, or is it maintaining the status quo? Zeng Zesheng's mood changes fluctuated greatly. Chiang Kai-shek also seemed to see Zeng Zesheng's strange appearance at this time, and was afraid that he would have a different heart. So in mid-August, he sent his eldest son, Chiang Ching-kuo, to fly over Jilin to offer "condolences."
At noon, Chiang Ching-kuo began to talk to Zeng Zesheng. Finally, when the plane left, Zeng Zesheng was very unstable and a little flattered. In addition, Chiang Kai-shek also ordered people to build a special "Cemetery for Generals of the 60th Army", and also sent people to Jilin to hold the inauguration ceremony of the cemetery, and promised to form the 184th Division for the third time of the 60th Army, and at the same time announced Chiang Kai-shek's order: Appoint Zeng Zesheng as the commander of the Jilin garrison.
After this series of "enveloping" behaviors, Zeng Zesheng's mood stabilized again. On March 8, 1948, under the strong attack of the People's Liberation Army, the 60th Army had to abandon Jilin and withdraw to Changchun. It was after this that the contradictions between Zeng Zesheng and Chiang Kai-shek's concubine troops, the New Seventh Army, also began to deepen.
The New Seventh Army is well equipped and has sufficient food; even officers at and above the level have jeeps and leaders at and above the army and division levels have cars; while the 60th Army is not only short of clothing and food, but also has only two old cars in the whole unit. At first, the supplies of the two armies were roughly the same, but slowly, the rice and sorghum rice of the 60th Army began to be half and half, and then all were sorghum rice, and in the end, most of the grain became soybeans.
Under such circumstances, division commander Long Yao finally couldn't help but get angry with Zeng Zesheng: "Over the years, I have been angry with the Kuomintang concubines too much. The reward is their collar, the pot is our back, and I have had enough of this kind of nest gas! ”
Long Yao's complaint was actually Zeng Zesheng's voice, so after several struggles, he resolutely accepted the Chinese Communist Party's proposition and chose to revolt. He first sent someone with a letter agreeing to the uprising to contact the PLA troops, and then met with the representatives of the PLA on the morning of October 17, 1948, to discuss the specific matters of the uprising, and finally consulted with all the officers, and at 8 o'clock that night, the uprising began.
At dawn on the 18th, the 60th Army withdrew from Changchun and handed over the defensive land to the People's Liberation Army. The Changchun Uprising was the second time that Zeng Zesheng left the Kuomintang army, and it was also the one that he never had any illusions about the Kuomintang army and completely left.
Zeng Zesheng later wrote in his Autobiography:
"I have broken away from the camp of reaction, come into the embrace of the people, and have been influenced by many revelations and progress of the Communist Party, which is a huge turning point in my life. So, I thank the Communist Party for waking me up from my half-sleep state and getting the light, which is extremely fortunate and sincerely grateful! ”
On the way to withdraw, Xiao Hua, political commissar of the People's Liberation Army Siege Corps, and others warmly met with Zeng Zesheng, Long Yao, and others; after expressing their welcome and condolences, Xiao Hua praised Zeng Zesheng: "Being able to lead many soldiers to embark on the road of light at such a crucial moment is not only a precedent for the Kuomintang army to revolt and peacefully liberate large cities in the War of Liberation, but also of great significance to the comprehensive victory of the campaign and the acceleration of the process of victory in the war of liberation in the whole country!" ”
When Xiao Jinguang cordially met with Zeng Zesheng and some generals at the Corps Headquarters, he also said: "We welcome you, and the economic treatment of the insurrectionary troops is the same as that of the Platon Army, and there will be no specialization." We are a family, and in the future we will be brothers and sisters and work together to revolution! ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="71" > two receptions from Chairman Mao</h1>
Soon after, the 60th Army was reorganized into the 50th Army of the People's Liberation Army, with Zeng Zesheng as the first commander. In 1949, Zeng Zesheng was ordered to lead his troops south to participate in the Battle of Western Hubei. At that time, he completely ignored his own illnesses such as arthritis, braved the wind and rain to climb mountains, take small roads, wade into rapids, cross dangerous passes, pursue and annihilate the fleeing enemy, and command his troops to finally win the first battle. Subsequently, Zeng Zesheng led his troops to the west and participated in the Battle of Chengdu under the command of Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping.
After the founding of New China, Zeng Zesheng and the troops did not stop there and made outstanding contributions on the Korean battlefield.
On October 25, 1950, Zeng Zesheng led the 50th Army and joined the first troops to enter the Korean War with other units. In the midst of the intense and fierce war, Zeng Zesheng, who has always been very firm and tenacious, once again led the whole army to fight bravely and well.
In the face of the enemies whose conditions were much superior to their own in all aspects, they fought bravely, bravely and calmly withstood the severe cold together, braved the wind and snow, climbed the ice and snow, endured hunger and starvation, and lived a hard battlefield life of fried noodles and snow, and finally under the command of Peng Dehuai, they successfully won the first, second, third, and fourth battles.
In the fourth campaign, Zeng Zesheng commanded the whole army to stubbornly resist on both sides of the Han River for 50 days and nights under difficult and difficult circumstances, giving the enemy a heavy blow and finally successfully completing the task.
Zeng Zesheng is well known throughout the army for being good at fighting defensive warfare, and every time he goes to a place, no matter how hard and tired he is, he must first dig up the fortifications. This advantage was also fully utilized in the Han River sniper war. In the harshest and most tense combat environment, Zeng Zesheng was able to command the battle cautiously and decisively. In the most magnificent battle, he also personally visited the positions of various divisions and regiments to understand the battle situation and command the battle, and encouraged the commanders and fighters to bravely kill the enemy. During this period, Zeng Zesheng's footprints covered many mountains in the north and south of the Han River.
One day, when Zeng Zesheng met Peng Dehuai at the headquarters of the Volunteer Army, Mr. Peng held his hand tightly and excitedly praised: "The 50th Army has fought well, and your command is good!" I'm going to give you reinforcements, and give you 50 troops a priority to change their uniforms! Zeng Ze said vividly to Mr. Peng: "We have tried our best and can look up in front of the brother troops." ”
As soon as Peng Dehuai heard the words "look up," he said humorously: "What are these words, aren't they the troops reorganized by the uprising?" I Peng Dehuai are not the same as you, born in the old army Xiang Army, I have never looked at you Zeng Zesheng differently, everyone is a comrade. When you go back today, you will tell the brothers of the troops that Peng Dehuai, commander of the Volunteer Army, has bowed to the comrades of the 50th Army! Zeng Zesheng deeply felt Peng's sincerity and trust in himself and his encouragement to the whole army.
When the troops returned to the rear for repairs, Zeng Zesheng, who was already in poor physical condition, became overworked and became more and more difficult to move. In order to take care of his health, the organization approved him to leave the team and return to China to recuperate. During this period of recuperation, Chairman Mao had a special meeting that Zeng Zesheng would never forget.
In April 1951, just a few days after Zeng Zesheng returned to Beijing to reunite with his family, Chairman Mao received him in Zhongnanhai. On that day, Zeng Zesheng's mood was particularly excited, and the conversation between the two was very extensive. After a lot of small talk, Chairman Mao turned the topic to the Korean battlefield and asked him in detail about the specific situation in the course of the operation at that time.
Zeng Zesheng reported to the chairman one by one, but afterwards he sighed: "I know very well the forward positions, some place names are not easy to remember, and I ignored some of the detachments, so the answers were very unspecified, and I felt very guilty at that time." Chairman Mao not only mastered the operation of large corps, but also knew the small detachments very well. Chairman Mao also saw his thoughts at that time, so he rushed to comfort him: "I just asked casually." And changed the subject.
So after this conversation, he would say to his family: "Beijing, I can't stay for a day, I have to prepare to return to the Korean battlefield!" He explained that he had been an officer for decades and thought that he was good at governing the army, until he met Chairman Mao and found that the chairman really used soldiers like gods. Before, he didn't understand why the PLA's armament was so poor, but its combat effectiveness was so strong, but when he saw Chairman Mao today, he finally understood!
Subsequently, Zeng Zesheng saw that the people of the whole country had donated money to the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, so he proposed to the headquarters that two houses in Kunming, one with a paved surface, and a house in Beijing be submitted to the government as a donation. The headquarters approved him: "Your house in Kunming has been submitted to the local government, and the house in Beijing is reserved for your family to live in, and there is no need to donate." ”
A few months later, Zeng Zesheng thought that his health was slightly better, so he immediately asked to return to the team. In July, Zeng Zesheng once again led the 50th Army of the Volunteer Army into the Korean War. This time when he re-participated in the battle, Zeng Zesheng's mood also changed a lot from before.
Due to health reasons, at the end of 1952, he returned to China early, and the units of the 50th Army of the Volunteer Army were not ordered to withdraw to the motherland until April 1955.
One day in May, Mao Zedong received Zeng Zesheng again in Zhongnanhai. After the two met, Mao Zedong tightly held Zeng Zesheng's hand and said happily: "You have played well!" After hearing this sentence, Zeng Zesheng was once again excited, which was not only an encouragement to all the commanders and fighters of the 50th Army, but also an education for himself.
Compared with his past situation in the Kuomintang army, he couldn't help but feel a thousand emotions and his thoughts fluttered. Zeng Zesheng humbly replied to Mao Zedong: "We are still far behind the brother troops. ”
Mao Zedong later mentioned to Zeng Zesheng the initial reason for the invasion of Korea, as well as his ideas and plans for national development and construction after the armistice, and finally instructed him: "You must continue to make new contributions to the great cause of the reunification of the motherland." ”
Chairman Mao's remarks were quickly recorded in His notebook, and after this meeting, Zeng Zesheng's vision also became even broader, and at the same time he was greatly encouraged, adding infinite strength and strengthening his confidence in speeding up army building.
Finally, Zeng Zesheng also took this opportunity to put forward a long-hidden wish to Mao Zedong. He smiled and summoned up the courage to say to Chairman Mao: "Chairman, I would like to make a request to you in person. "Oh? If there is anything you ask for, just say it! Mao Zedong said sincerely.
"I ask you to approve my joining the Communist Party of China." Hearing his demands, Mao Zedong thought for a moment and then said: "Over the years, you have made rapid progress and your consciousness is not low, in fact, you do not need my approval to join the Communist Party of China." After a pause, he said, "It's good that you still don't join." ”
This made Zeng Zesheng a little incomprehensible, and he directly said his question: "Why Chairman? Chairman Mao continued: "If, as a non-party figure, you propagate to the whole world the new features of new China, so that Taiwan can understand our past and urge them to stand on the side of the reunification of the motherland, then your role will be even greater." You wait a little longer, how about that? ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="75" > short later years</h1>
Zeng Zesheng learned of the chairman's true intentions, understood it very well, and was also relieved about it, knowing that he was qualified to join the party, but only for the sake of the great cause of reunification, he had more far-reaching plans, and he would be able to play his own usefulness more if he did not join the party. At this time, Zeng Zesheng only felt that the burden and responsibility on his body were heavier and greater.
Since then, Zeng Zesheng has always firmly adhered to one responsibility: "The role of not joining the party is greater than that of joining the party.", he devoted himself to the cause of the peaceful reunification of the motherland, and looked forward to the day when he would gloriously join the Communist Party of China and become a member of the Communist Party.
In October 1955, Zeng Zesheng was awarded the rank of lieutenant general by the Central Military Commission. Since then, he has successively served as a member of the National Defense Commission, a deputy to the First, Second and Third National People's Congress, a member of the First National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and a standing committee member of the Third and Fourth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
In September 1968, Zeng Zesheng resigned as the commander of the 50th Army, but he continued to devote his full strength to contributing to the country. Unfortunately, he died prematurely.
On February 22, 1973, General Zeng Zesheng died of illness in Beijing at the age of 71. At the memorial service, Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, and other party and state leaders sent wreaths; Ye Jianying, Hu Yaobang, and others came to personally attend; and Xiao Jinguang, vice minister of national defense, delivered a eulogy for Zeng Zesheng at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery, seeking truth from facts and giving high praise to General Zeng Zesheng's life.
Among the star-studded generals of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, this general Zeng Zesheng, who loved the country and the people in his journey of fighting horses, will always be recorded in the annals of history and remembered by future generations.