In September 1948, the Northeast Field Army established the First and Second Corps, and Peng Mingji, then the commander of the 7th Brigade of the 3rd Division of the Northeast Field Army, was appointed deputy commander, becoming the only person in the army to be promoted from brigade commander to deputy commander of the corps. Prior to this, Peng Mingzhi served as a brigade commander for 8 years, the slowest to rise among the brigade commanders of the same period. At this time, why can he be promoted three levels in a row, more than a large number of column commanders, and serve as deputy commanders of the corps?
A native of Hengyang, Hunan Province, Peng Mingzhi was admitted to the first phase of the Whampoa Military Academy in March 1924, becoming a classmate of Jiang Xianyun, Xu Xiangqian, and Chen Geng, a disciple of Zhou Enlai, and joining the Communist Party of China the following year. After graduating from the Whampoa Military Academy, Zhou Enlai recommended him to the Ye Ting Independent Regiment as a probationary platoon leader. During the Northern Expedition, Ye Ting's independent regiment was invincible and famous, and Peng Mingji also began to show his prominence because of his bravery in battle, becoming a famous "platoon leader at all costs" in Ye Ting's independent regiment. During the Nanchang Uprising in 1927, Peng Mingzhi served as the acting company commander of the 73rd Regiment of the 25th Division (reorganized from the Ye Ting Independent Regiment) and led the whole company to participate in the Nanchang Uprising.
As can be seen from Peng Mingzhi's early experience, his seniority is very old. Normally, such qualifications should have been a division-level cadre during the Red Army, a brigade-level cadre during the Eighth Route Army, and a column commander during the Liberation War, but he was only a deputy regimental commander during the Red Army period, and until 1948, he only held the position of brigade commander. This is because he has rejoined the party.
After the Nanchang Uprising, the rebel forces moved south to Guangdong, and Peng Meiming participated in the Battle of Sanheba commanded by Zhu De. At that time, peng Mingzhi's 25th Division fought a bloody battle with more than 20,000 enemy troops for 3 days and nights in order to cover the main force moving south. During the battle, Peng Meizhi was wounded and unconscious, and when he woke up, the troops had withdrawn, and he was forced to hide in his local hometown to recuperate, losing contact with the troops and the party organization, and while recuperating from his wounds, he inquired about the whereabouts of the troops. Later, due to the serious local enemy situation, Peng Mingzhi returned to Changning's home to heal his wounds, and after many inquiries, he learned that Zhu De led the sanheba remaining troops to the northern Guangdong area, so he rushed to the Shaoguan area to look for it. But in fact, at that time, Zhu De commanded the sanheba remaining troops to withdraw from northern Guangdong and go north to Jinggangshan.
Peng Mingzhi could not find the troops, in order to make a living, he had to go to the 52nd Division of the Kuomintang Army stationed in Guiyang as a soldier, the enemy did not know Peng Mingji's true identity, only thought that he was an ordinary youth, so he was assigned to the 3rd Regiment and 4th Company as a soldier. It is estimated that even if the enemy knew the true identity of Peng Mingji at that time, he could not believe it, after all, among Peng Mingji's classmates at that time, Huang Wei, who was of average ability, had achieved the commander of the regiment, and Hu Zongnan was already a division commander. It is hard for the enemy to believe that the classmates of the regimental commander and division commander will come to be the big head soldiers?
Peng Mingzhi did not care about being a creep in the 52nd Division, because his main purpose was to find party organizations. In August 1930, when the Red Army attacked Changsha, when the 52nd Division was stationed on the outskirts of Changsha, Peng Mingming, who was serving as an outpost, saw the troops coming, decisively instigated the 9-man uprising of his squad, and ran to the Red Army with guns. In the winter of that year, after passing the test of the "first anti-encirclement and suppression" in the Central Soviet Region, Peng Meiji rejoined the party.
At the time of the Nanchang Uprising, Peng Mingzhi had already held a company-level post, but after returning to the army, he did not make any demands on the organization, but started from a soldier again. At that time, his Huangpu Phase I classmate Xu Xiangqian had served as deputy commander of the Red First Army and commander of the First Division for nearly a year, and his Huangpu Phase IV apprentice Lin Biao was already the commander of the Fourth Army of the Red First Army. Peng Mingzhi did not complain at all, but took one step at a time, successively serving as squad leader, platoon leader, and company commander, no matter what position he held, he charged ahead and fought bravely. Soon, he was appointed deputy regimental commander of the 19th Regiment of the 7th Division of the 3rd Red Army. In the third anti-"encirclement and suppression" operation, the enemy's Yue army relied on its superior strength to pounce on the position of the 19th Regiment, and at the critical moment, Peng Mingzhi drew a large knife from behind and took the lead in rushing into the enemy position, "covered in blood" until the enemy was repelled. After this battle, Peng Mingzhi became famous and became a well-known "big knife regiment commander" and "everyone called a tough general".
After the Xi'an Incident, Peng Mingzhi served as the chief of staff of the Red 1st Division, and the division commander was Yang Chengwu. In August 1937, after the Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army, most of the cadres were demoted to two levels due to insufficient staffing, and Peng Mingji was appointed chief of staff of the 685th Regiment of the 343rd Brigade of the 115th Division. A year later, the regimental commander Yang Dezhi was transferred away, and Peng Mingji was promoted to regimental commander. Soon after, in accordance with the central authorities' strategic decision to "consolidate North China and develop Central China," the 685th Regiment was ordered to be expanded into the Suluyu Detachment, with Peng Mingji as the detachment leader, and together with political commissar Wu Faxian, he commanded the troops to advance into southern Lunan and northern Jiangsu.
In August 1940, the Suluyu Detachment was renamed the First Detachment of the Fifth Column of the Eighth Route Army, and then changed to the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army to teach the First Brigade, and went south to support the New Fourth Army. After the "Anhui Incident" in 1941, the central government decided to rebuild the New Fourth Army, and at the same time, the Fifth Column of the Eighth Route Army, which was supported by the south, was also reorganized into the 3rd Division of the New Fourth Army, and the First Brigade was reorganized into the 7th Brigade of the 3rd Division of the New Fourth Army, as a mobile unit of the New Fourth Army, with Peng Mingzhi as the brigade commander. After that, Peng Mingzhi commanded the 7th Brigade to fight in northern Jiangsu, Huainan, and Huaibei, fighting more than a thousand battles, and was praised by Huang Kecheng, commander of the 3rd Division, as "the fist of the 3rd Division", and Chen Yi, acting commander of the New Fourth Army, also praised the 7th Brigade: "the main force of the main force in central China" and "the steel force".
Speaking of the 7th Brigade, we must say "Liu Laozhuanglian".
On October 1, 2009, at the meeting to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China, among the 100 honorary flags of the Battle Flag Square Was the "Liu Laozhuang Company" from the 7th Brigade of the New Fourth Army. In the spring of 1943, more than 3,000 people of the 65th Division of the Japanese Army carried out a brutal "sweep" of our base area in northern Jiangsu, and the 4th Company of the 19th Regiment of the 7th Brigade was ordered to cover the transfer of party and government organs. Under the command of company commander Bai Sicai and instructor Li Yunpeng, the 82 people of the whole company were brave and tenacious, not afraid of sacrifice, fought in bloody battles, repelled the enemy's five chargees successively, and killed more than a hundred enemy troops, but in the end they were outnumbered and all died heroically. After the war, Peng Mingji, commander of the 7th Brigade, announced the rebuilding of the 4th Company on behalf of the Political Department of the Brigade Headquarters and awarded the 4th Company the title of "Liu Laozhuang Company". The local people also organized a public funeral ceremony, built the "Tomb of the Eighty-two Martyrs of the New Fourth Army", and selected 82 outstanding local sons and daughters to supplement the rebuilt 4 companies. Chen Yi, acting commander of the New Fourth Army, wrote an article commending: "The loyal and courageous spirit of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the country can certainly be set in a downward style and inspired. Zhu De, commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army, praised them as "the highest manifestation of heroism."
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the 7th Brigade of the 3rd Division, under the command of division commander Huang Kecheng, advanced into the northeast, which was the earliest unit to enter the northeast. After entering the northeast, Peng Mingzhi commanded the 7th Brigade to participate in the Battle of Xiushui Hezi and the Defense of Siping. In the Battle of XiushuiHezi, Peng Meizhi, as a brigade commander, commanded the 7th Brigade and the 1st Division under Liang Xingchu's command, resolutely disobeyed Lin Biao's retreat orders under unfavorable circumstances, and still ordered his troops to attack the enemy, and finally turned defeat into victory. The Battle of XiushuiHezi was the first time our army destroyed a whole regiment of the enemy in the northeast, and it was also the first victory won by our army in the northeast. In the Siping Defense War, Peng Mingzhi commanded the 7th Brigade in a bloody battle for 5 days and nights, and the whole brigade sacrificed more than 4,000 people, accounting for half of the total casualties of our army. ”
After the liberation of the whole country, some people sang the praises of Lin Biao through the Battle of Xiushui Hezi, and Peng Mingzhi just said that this battle was not commanded by Lin Biao at all. After Lin Biao's death, some people attacked the Battle of Xiushui Hezi as a defeat that was not worth the loss, and Peng Mingzhi still said that this battle was not commanded by Lin Biao at all. From this small matter, it can be seen that General Peng Mingzhi is a person who is not flattering or deceitful, who is upright and upright.
Unfortunately, during the Siping Defense Battle, Peng Mingzhi suffered from tuberculosis and often needed soldiers to carry him to command the battle. After the battle, his superiors sent him to the better-condition Jiamusi Hospital, where he was treated by experienced Japanese military doctors. Peng Mingzhi's illness was so severe that it took more than a year of treatment and cultivation to restore his health.
It is precisely because of this more than a year of medical treatment and cultivation that Peng Mingzhi is relatively backward in his position. For example, Liang Xingchu was originally the brigade commander of the Independent Brigade of the New Fourth Army, and at this time he was already the commander of the column, while Peng Mingji was still the brigade commander. However, the organization has not forgotten his contributions.
Liang Xingchu
In September 1948, the Second Corps of the Northeast Field Army was established, with Cheng Zihua as the commander, Huang Kecheng as the political commissar, peng Meiji as the deputy commander, and in March of the following year, the second corps of the Northeast Field Army was renamed the 13th Corps of the Fourth Field Army, and Peng Meiji was the second deputy commander and chief of staff. After that, he followed the footsteps of the Siye Army to the south, and successively participated in the command of the battles of Pingjin, Hengbao, and Guangxi. After the founding of New China, Peng Mingzhi served as deputy commander of the Guangxi Military Region. At that time, the Guangxi Military Region was not a provincial military region, but a second-level military region, consisting of 13 corps, subordinate to the Central and Southern Military Region, at the corps level, under the jurisdiction of ten military sub-districts and four garrison headquarters, with a total strength of more than 100,000 people, and Zhang Yunyi, commander and political commissar of the military region.
Peng Mingzhi was promoted from brigade commander to deputy commander of the corps across the third rank, but no one in the whole army criticized, opposed, or was unconvinced by this matter. The reason is also very simple, Peng Mingzhi is a graduate of the huangpu first term, participated in the Northern Expedition War and the Nanchang Uprising, from the beginning of the army to Ye Ting's independent regiment, the seniority is very old, if it were not for the loss of contact with the party organization, resulting in re-entry into the party, I am afraid that he would have already held the position of commander of the corps.
Even if seniority is not discussed, in terms of military merit alone, Peng Mingji is completely qualified: during the Northern Expedition, the charge was in front, nicknamed "platoon leader at all costs"; During the Red Army period, the great enemy was currently wielding a sword, "everyone called a fierce general"; The anti-Japanese battlefield, fought from north China to central China, "the surname is still called the enemy's fear"; Liberate the battlefield, the brigade commander commanded the division commander, dared to disobey Lin Biao's orders and won a great victory.
In March 1950, Peng Mingzhi was appointed ambassador to Poland, one of the famous "general ambassadors" at that time, which was personally appointed by Premier Zhou. Peng Mingzhi, who did not speak foreign languages, was worried that he would not be able to do a good job, and when Chairman Mao learned of this, he encouraged him to emulate Ban Gu and Zhang Qian of the Han Dynasty and build meritorious contributions to the friendship between the Chinese and Polish peoples.
During his two-year term in Poland, Peng Mingzhi spared no effort to develop relations between the two countries, and the Polish government greatly appreciated him, but because of war wounds and illness, Peng Mingji was not suitable for tedious foreign affairs. In 1952, Peng Mingzhi was transferred back to China as the commander of the Hebei Provincial Military Region, returned to the army, and was awarded the rank of lieutenant general in 1955, which was one of the few commanders of the provincial military district to be awarded the rank of lieutenant general.
In August 1957, Peng Mingji was appointed deputy director of the Ministry of Supervision of the Armed Forces to assist Minister Ye Jianying, but due to physical reasons, while actively participating in the work of the ministry, Peng Mingji mainly focused on self-cultivation.
On May 10, 1993, General Peng Mingzhi died of illness in Beijing at the age of 88, and his old comrade-in-arms, Admiral Hong Xuezhi, called him "heroic and good at war, and the history of meritorious deeds."