In the spring of 1951, in the living room of Huairen Hall in Zhongnanhai, Chairman Mao tightly held the hands of a middle-aged soldier and said cordially: "Communists all serve the people, you don't have to be formal, we sit down and talk slowly."
I saw that the middle-aged man who was still full of spirit before entering the door was constantly rubbing his hands, obviously a little cramped and uneasy. Chairman Mao and his old man all looked at all this. In order to ease the nervousness of the soldiers, the old man gently pushed the tea cup brought by the waiter to the soldiers, and said kindly: "Come, first drink tea." ”
"In this War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, your army fought well!" Especially in the just-concluded defensive battle on the south bank of the Han River, the officers and men of the Fifty Army, with their flesh and blood, blocked the footsteps of hundreds of thousands of mechanized troops of the Yankees, and for fifty days and nights, completely shattered the enemy's dream of trying to end the Korean War before Christmas. ”
Remembering the picture of Commander-in-Chief Peng Dehuai bowing deeply to himself before returning to China, he couldn't help but wet his eyes and said hurriedly: "We still have many deficiencies, and all divisions and regiments have already made profound summing up lessons and lessons. ”
The chairman's cordiality and trust slowly calmed the nervousness of the soldiers when they first saw the great man. As the conversation deepened, the atmosphere became more and more intense.
One of them is a great man with great talent and great ability, and the other is a general who commanded on the battlefield and was brave and good at war, and they reviewed in detail the process of several famous battles and constantly summed up lessons learned.
Between the words, the chairman's sympathetic and cherishing feelings for the officers and men at the grass-roots level, his keen insight into the battlefield situation, and his momentum of strategizing for the future direction of the war deeply shook the hearts of the soldiers, and he could not help but secretly sigh: When encountering such an opponent, it is strange that old Chiang Kai-shek does not lose!
When the soldier walked out of Huai Ren Hall with a firm pace and came outside, the spring breeze was blowing and the sun was shining, and he breathed a long sigh of relief. Just now, the chairman had a few seemingly ordinary words that made him ashamed and embarrassed, like sitting on a needle felt.
Back at home, he said to his wife, who was doubly concerned: "I can't stay in Beijing for a day, and I want to go back to the Korean battlefield." Looking at her anxious husband, Madame was confused, momentarily dazed, overwhelmed.
So, who is this general? Why did the Chairman receive him alone? What did the chairman say that made the general, who had always been calm and self-assured, so unsettled that he was ashamed and embarrassed?
In fact, this general is Zeng Zesheng, commander of the Fiftieth Army of the Fourth Field Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="134" >1) from a high-ranking Kuomintang official to a new Chinese general</h1>
In 1902, in a small mountain village in Yongshan County, Yunnan, a family surnamed Zeng was born with a tiger's head and a tiger's brain, and his father was very happy, and named zesheng, which means that Ze was born. His birth brought infinite joy to his parents.
Unfortunately, when he was one year old, his father died and his mother remarried. In the face of Zeng Zesheng, who grew up and was studious, his stepfather repeatedly opposed and obstructed him from continuing his studies, and after several unsuccessful struggles, he had to choose to join the army himself.
Zeng Zesheng's road to joining the army was not smooth, and it can be said that he had experienced hardships. He had been imprisoned twice, and the last time, he almost took his life. After being insured by multiple people, he was released after several months of confinement.
Painstakingly pondering the pain, Zeng Zesheng finally understood the "true meaning" of the Kuomintang troops that only the orders of the commanders were obeyed. From then on, he swallowed his anger and was cautious and cautious, and lived a life of self-preservation in the Kuomintang troops where the trend of corruption and corruption prevailed.
In 1937, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out in full swing, and Zeng Zesheng, who was already the regimental commander, led the Yunnan Army composed of Yunnan Robe Ze to plunge into the torrent of the War of Resistance Against Japan without hesitation.
In the Battle of Taierzhuang, Zeng Zesheng and the Sixty Army became famous in one battle, and since then, in many battlefields of the War of Resistance Against Japan, there have been the figures of the sixty army officers, and Zeng Zesheng himself has also been a regimental commander, deputy division commander, and division commander until he was promoted to commander.
After the outbreak of the Liaoshen Campaign, the Kuomintang Sixty Army was stationed in Changchun, and in the face of the layers of encirclement and powerful political offensive of our army, Zeng Zesheng, who had progressive ideas and had long been disgusted by the corrupt rule of the Kuomintang, finally made up his mind to abandon the dark and turn to the light.
He resolutely gathered his subordinates together and firmly said to these people and his own birth and death: "In order to avoid unnecessary sacrifices, after careful consideration, I have decided to lead everyone to revolt and submit to the leadership of the Communist Party. Do you agree with the uprising? Only to hear the officers in the room reply in unison: "Agree."
A bad system can make good people bad, and a good system can make bad people good.
Zeng Zesheng is straightforward and frank, he actively accepts the transformation, reads a large number of red classics, and begins to seriously think about his life trajectory. "I thank the Communist Party for waking me up from my half-sleep state, getting on the right track and getting the light," he said.
He wrote in his diary: I wash twice a day here, washing is healing, washing the body, washing the face, washing the heart. After washing, I washed my heart against the book, saw how much dirt was washed away, how much was left, and then washed my face. Taking a bath every day, determined to wash away the sins, to reform the troops and myself, to determine the views and positions of the revolution.
Later, the former Kuomintang Sixty Army, which had undergone ideological reform, was reorganized into the Fiftieth Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and Zeng Zesheng continued to serve as the commander of the army, and it was also the only unit composed of rebel soldiers in the army that later participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="158" >2) fought a bloody battle in the south of the Han River, made a great contribution, and Peng zong bowed to him. </h1>
In 1950, the Korean War broke out, and in order to defend the country, the Party Central Committee headed by Chairman Mao decided to send troops to Korea. At this time, the 48-year-old Zeng Zesheng was recuperating from illness, he immediately asked for war, and in the face of the concern and dissuasion of the superior leaders, he firmly said: "The Fifty Army is deeply cared for by the party and the people, and we will certainly be able to overcome all difficulties and hardships and live up to our mission!" ”
Nothing can stop a righteous and sincere heart. On October 25, 1950, Zeng Zesheng led his troops across the Yalu River. Under the command of General Peng, they won the first, second, third, and fourth battles. Among them, the bloody battle on the Han River left a rich chapter in the entire history of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
In the Han River defense battle, the 50th Army was located in the westernmost part of the front, the enemy launched an attack on each position first with artillery, then with aircraft, and then armored vehicles to cover the infantry charge, if it could not rush up, there would be another round of bombing, the front-line fighters were sacrificed in a row, and the battle was extremely fierce.
When a regimental commander said that the Fifty Army was about to be destroyed, Zeng Zesheng shouted firmly: "The people are in the position, the regimental commander is not on the division commander, the division commander is not on me, even if the people are finished fighting, the number is gone, the position cannot be lost, and the spirit of the Fifty Army will always exist." ”
The Americans couldn't understand why they saw that the entire hill had been almost blown up, but when they organized the attack, they could still be beaten back by the volunteers again and again. So much so that Li Qi shouted in a slightly frustrated tone: "Dozens of days have passed, we have consumed tens of thousands of shells, why can't we take down these tattered field fortifications?" ”
In this way, the 30,000 Yunnan disciples were stunned to resist the indiscriminate bombardment and frenzied attack of the "coalition army" troops armed to the teeth with their flesh and blood, and for fifty days, they paid great sacrifices, hit the limit in the history of human warfare, and made great contributions to the stability of the entire war situation.
After the end of the Han River Defense Battle, the chiefs of the Volunteer Army Headquarters jointly issued a commendation order to the Fifty Army.
When Zeng Zesheng saw the commander-in-chief again, General Peng said heartily: "All the fellow villagers in Yunnan are good, you are fighting well, I will give you reinforcements, and all equipment will be distributed to the Fifty Army first." Here, I, Peng Dehuai, bow to you and all the officers and men of the Fifty Army. Only to see That Mr. Peng said while really bowing deeply to Zeng Zesheng.
In the face of the commander-in-chief's sincere and touching eyes, Zeng Zesheng was already in tears. Everything suffered in the old army flashed through my mind like a movie: the struggle in prison, the oppression of the commanders, the exclusion of colleagues, the discrimination of Chiang Kai-shek's "concubines" against the "miscellaneous" Dian army... Looking at the honor and respect that the Fifty Army has won now, Zeng Zesheng is more and more convinced that he has taken the right path of uprising.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="175" >3) shamed the chairman and returned to the front. </h1>
On March 15, 1951, the Fifty Army was ordered to return to China for recuperation. One day, Chairman Mao received Zeng Zesheng in Zhongnanhai. From the international situation to domestic economic construction to the Korean battlefield, Chairman Mao inquired in detail about the fifty days and nights of fighting on the Han River, and after listening to Zeng Zesheng's report and summary of 1510, the chairman could not help but point to a very small place on the map and said: "This battle is also remarkable. ”
Zeng Zesheng was momentarily stunned, and he was hesitant to determine which battle site this was, because his impression of this place was too vague. The chairman immediately noticed Zeng Zesheng's embarrassment and hurriedly said, "I just casually said that Commander Zeng doesn't have to care, the Fifty Army is really fighting well!" Then the topic was subtly diverted.
In fact, since the outbreak of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, in the past six months, the chairman has not slept a single night, often standing in front of the map all night and all night, smoking one cigarette after another, so that the index and middle fingers of his right hand are yellowed by cigarette smoke.
He not only kept abreast of the specific deployment of each battle of the troops, but also knew the highlights of each battlefield and the summary of the mistakes of each department after the battle.
The powerful charisma radiated by the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party deeply infected Zeng Zesheng, who was ashamed and blamed himself for not completely breaking away from the bureaucratic habits of the old army. In July of the same year. At Zeng Zesheng's strong request, the Fifty Army went to Korea for the second time, taking on tasks such as defending the west coast and repairing the airport.
Here, Zeng Zesheng went deep among the officers and men at the grass-roots level to repair fortifications with the soldiers, talk about ideas, talk about the future, and eat and live together. In the subsequent battle to seize the island, the Fifty Army performed particularly well.
After the war, the troops returned to China, and a poem "The Motherland I Am Back" made all the soldiers of the Fifty Army feel excited:
Drive over the Yalu River,
It's like flying.
Motherland, I am back;
Motherland, my mother-in-law.
But, when my tears of joy fall in your arms,
My heart flew back to the front of North Korea...
After returning to China, Zeng Zesheng was again received by Chairman Mao. In the same year, together with those veteran Red Army and Lao Balu, who had experienced hundreds of battles, he accepted Chairman Mao's title and became a lieutenant general in the People's Liberation Army, and was awarded the Liberation Medal of the First Class. He was a member of the First to Third National Defense Commission of New China and a standing committee member of the Third and Fourth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
On February 22, 1973, General Zeng Zesheng died in Beijing at the age of 71. Ye Jianying, Hu Yaobang, and other party and state leaders attended the solemn memorial service and gave General Zeng Zesheng a high appraisal.