Among the founding generals, General Zhang Zhen held a high and powerful position for a long time, serving as chief of staff of the Third Field Army, director of the General Logistics Department of the People's Liberation Army, deputy chief of general staff, and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission.
Although General Zhang Zhen was a Confucian general, he was also injured many times in his long revolutionary career, 6 times in the light of serious injuries, and one bullet remained in his body for 8 years.
On December 7, 1953, when Zhang Zhen attended the meeting of senior cadres of the military system of the Central Military Commission, he suddenly felt a headache, beads of sweat kept falling, and taking painkiller tablets three times in a row did not work, and the pain was almost impossible to sit still.
During the revolutionary war years, General Zhang Zhen was injured many times, which seriously affected his physical health, often had headaches and insomnia, but usually he could alleviate it by taking some painkillers, but today it was ineffective.
The staff rushed him to the hospital, and the doctor said after examination that the bullet in his body should be removed, otherwise his life might be in danger in the future.
Zhang Zhen thought about it, agreed with the doctor's opinion, and took out the bullet.
After the operation, Zhang Zhen looked at the bullet and was very emotional, because this bullet had been in his body for more than 8 years!
Zhang Zhen told his wife, Ma Lingsong, to preserve this bullet and leave it to future generations, so that they could understand the hardships of the revolution and the hard-won happiness of life.
So, when was General Zhang Zhen hit by this bullet? Why did it stay in the body for 8 years without taking it out?
Back in February 1945, Zhang Zhenzheng was serving as the chief of staff of the Fourth Division of the New Fourth Army and the commander of the Luxi Military Subdistrict of the Huaibei Military Region, on this day, Zhang Zhen received the news that the Japanese puppet army had gathered nearly 3,000 troops and came to the newly restored Yuwan Soviet Anti-Japanese Base Area to carry out a major sweep.
Zhang Zhen immediately deployed to meet the enemy, personally leading two regiments and the Xiaoxian Independent Brigade and the County Brigade to intercept the Japanese puppet army.
The battle was very stiff, Zhang Zhen left the command post and personally visited the front-line position to observe, but unexpectedly, at this moment, a bullet from the Japanese puppet army hit him, hitting Zhang Zhen's right shoulder blade, and Zhang Zhen suddenly fell to the ground.
The guards hurriedly called for the hygienists, bandaged Zhang Zhen, and arranged a stretcher to carry him back to the rear, but Zhang Zhen did not care, smiled and said to the guards: "This little injury will go to the battlefield?" Everybody keep fighting! ”
In this way, Zhang Zhen continued to command the battle with his wounds until the enemy was completely annihilated. After the war, Zhang Zhen fainted on the battlefield due to excessive blood loss and overwork, and was taken to the hospital.
Because the bullet entered the body too deeply, the doctor asked for surgery to take the bullet out, but at that time, the War of Resistance Against Japan was already in sight, and it was imminent to launch a final offensive against the Japanese puppet army, if the operation was done, it would definitely delay the operation, so Zhang Zhen decided not to take the bullet for the time being, and wait until the end of the battle.
After returning to the troops, Zhang Zhen immediately led his troops to launch a spring offensive, annihilating thousands of enemy troops, capturing countless people, expanding the anti-Japanese base area of Yuwan and Suzhou again, and connecting the 8 counties to which he belonged, and Zhang Zhen was also commended by the general order of the headquarters of the New Fourth Army.
However, Zhang Zhen also missed the opportunity to take out the bullet for the first time.
A year later, in February 1946, Zhang Zhen went to Huai'an, Jiangsu Province, to attend a meeting of senior cadres, during which his shoulder pain was unbearable, and after examination by doctors, he said that some of the places where he was hit were inflamed, and he had to take out the bullets as soon as possible, otherwise it would endanger his life.
However, at that time, Chiang Kai-shek was constantly dispatching troops, and the large-scale civil war was already on the arrow, and he did not know when it would break out, So Zhang Zhen asked the doctor how long it would take after the operation. The doctor told him to take at least a month's break.
Zhang Zhen refused the kindness of the doctors and leaders, saying: "The big war is imminent, my personal pain is a small matter, can not affect the preparation of the big thing, wait for the opportunity to take the bullet again!" ”
In this way, Zhang Zhen let the doctor deal with it simply, and then returned to the front line, missing the opportunity to take the bullet again.
Three months later, when the War of Liberation broke out, Zhang Zhen led his troops into battle, successively winning victories in defending Lingbi, the Battle of Chaoyangji, the Battle of Jiaodong, the Battle of Jinan, and so on.
In May 1953, Zhang Zhen was appointed acting commander and political commissar of the 24th Army of the Chinese Volunteer Army, leading his troops to participate in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
Unfortunately, during a battlefield inspection in August 1953, Zhang Zhen suffered a serious car accident, the wheel rolled over his waist, and his head was seriously injured.
This time, the doctor once again suggested that he take the bullet out, but Zhang Zhen still refused on the grounds of the tension of the war, and gave up the opportunity to remove the bullet for the third time.
Until December 7, 1953, General Zhang Zhen really couldn't hold on, and at the strong request of the leaders and doctors, he finally took out the bullet.
Today, General Zhang Zhen has passed away, but the bullet that remained in his body for more than 8 years has been preserved, becoming a witness to the generation of revolutionaries who braved hardships and sacrificed their lives to serve the country.
(References: Memoirs of Zhang Zhen, Anecdotes of the Founding Generals, Global Figures)
——To learn more about the story of the founding generals, you can check out the column of the history inn, a total of 100 founding generals.