In the spring of 1938, the Japanese army launched a large-scale attack on Taierzhuang. The Nationalist army organized a large-scale resistance in Taierzhuang, and before this key battle began, Zhang Zizhong, a heroic anti-Japanese general who went to the aid, beheaded 3 people in a row, which made people feel strange.
Before the great war, the angry beheading of one's own generals would undoubtedly seriously damage the morale of the army. So what happened that year that made Zhang Zizhong have to kill his brother?
Let's first look at the historical background at that time. In February 1938, the Japanese army began a large-scale offensive into the Linyi area of Shandong. First began to attack Ju County, northeast of Linyi, due to the disparity in the strength of the enemy and us, the defenders of Ju County did not resist for long, and the defender Liu Zhendong was martyred in battle.
After taking Juxian County, the Japanese army began to continue to advance towards Linyi, which was a vital strategic point, only 90 kilometers from Taierzhuang and less than 200 kilometers from Xuzhou in the southwest.
Once the Japanese army took Linyi, it would directly threaten the entire east China region. At this time, Pang Bingxun, who was guarding Linyi, appeared weak, and Li Zongren ordered Zhang Zizhong's Fifty-ninth Army to rush to Linyi's aid.
After Receiving the order, Zhang Zizhong did not dare to delay for a moment, and rushed day and night to meet Pang Bingxun in Linyi. After Zhang Zizhong saw Pang Bingxun, he did not have any greetings and said straight to the point
"According to common sense, our Fifty-ninth Army is in a hurry to reach this point, and we should take a short rest and come back to meet the enemy. However, the great enemy is at present, the enemy is strong and we are weak, and we must seize the time, strike out quickly, and hit the enemy by surprise in order to win. ”
Pang Bingxun looked at the determined look of his former old friend, greatly sighed, and immediately nodded in agreement.
In the early morning of March 14, 1938, Zhang Zizhong led the officers of the Fifty-ninth Army who had just arrived in Linyi and quietly set off. Under the cover of the dark night, they extinguished the flashlight, tied all the hooves of the mules and horses to cloth bags, and braved the cold winter rain to cross the Linyi Water.
Immediately, the troops rushed to Tingzitou, Shaziling and other places to build fortifications. Before dawn, a strong fortification appeared on the linyi waterfront. After several days and nights of rapid marching, the generals were resting, waiting for the arrival of the enemy.
At this time, Zhang Zizhong suddenly gathered the soldiers, asked people to bring the two soldiers tied up in front of everyone, and read the crimes of the two soldiers to the soldiers.
When he finished reading, he waved his hand to the enforcement team to pull the trigger, and with two gunshots, the two soldiers fell to the ground in response.
After the execution, Zhang Zizhong looked up at the sky and sighed: "I am sorry for you, I did not teach you well in my daily life, and let you commit such crimes." ”
After saying this, he ordered the two soldiers to bury them. So, why did Zhang Zizhong execute these two soldiers? Let's move on.
It turned out that while marching that night, the troops passed by a small shop selling groceries. Because it was raining at night, the two soldiers took the two umbrellas in the shop. The shopkeeper saw it and asked them for money.
Zhang Zizhong, then commander of the Fifty-ninth Army
Who knew that these two soldiers not only did not give money but called the shop owner. The shop owner was angry, so he wanted to complain to the leader of the army, and it happened that Zhang Zizhong passed by the door of the shop at this time.
When the shop owner saw that this person was dressed in spirit and riding a high-headed horse, most of them were officials, he immediately went forward to stop Zhang Zizhong's horse to file a complaint.
Zhang Zizhong listened to the store owner's statement, forced the anger in his heart, asked the shop owner to pay a horse, and let the shop owner accompany the army, and then identified the person who beat him at the destination.
After the troops arrived at the garrison, Zhang Zizhong ordered someone to take the shop owner to find the two soldiers, and it didn't take long to find them. Zhang Zizhong personally interrogated, and the two soldiers confessed.
Zhang Zizhong said with a sigh: "You know the discipline of our iron army, and now that the great enemy is at present, it is even more necessary to unite sincerely." It's not that I can't tolerate you, it's just that today you violated military discipline, so don't blame me for being ruthless. ”
After the two soldiers were shot, Zhang Zizhong turned his eyes to the lively local compatriots and said to them: "Fellow villagers, we are the Fifty-ninth Army of the Kuomintang, and I am the commander Zhang Zizhong.
However, if there are people in my troops who violate the law and discipline and harass the people, I will not tolerate anyone. If there is a similar situation in the future, you can report it at any time. ”
As soon as the words fell out, an old man pulled a girl out of the crowd, and Pu Tong knelt down in front of Zhang Zizhong and shouted loudly: "Military master, you have to give us the lord!" Zhang Zizhong hurriedly stepped forward to help the old man and asked him to slowly explain the origin of the matter.
Only to see the old man pull the girl behind him with tears in her eyes and say, "General, this is my girl, last night let a soldier spoil it!" When he finished, he whimpered and cried.
Only to see Zhang Zizhong's eyes widen in anger, gritting his teeth in hatred, and then asked: "Old man, do you still recognize the appearance of that beast?" The old man calmed down a little.
He said: "At that time, on a dark day, the girl and I didn't see what he looked like. However, my girl resisted desperately and grabbed a handful on his thigh, which must have left a mark. ”
Zhang Zizhong's eyes were like a torch, he turned his head to look at the soldiers in front of him, his heart was full of burning anger, he did not expect that in ordinary days, his army was known as the iron army, and he always required his subordinates with the strictest military discipline.
In just one night, there were two incidents of violating the law and discipline in succession, and what was even more hateful was that some people dared to spoil the women of the good family. He snapped, "Who did this?" Stand up! ”
This was followed by a moment of silence, at which the air seemed to freeze, and the hour hand had only gone a few blocks but seemed to have gone through centuries.
Zhang Zizhong then said: "Manhood dares to be bold, and my Zhang Zizhong's troops do not have this kind of breed. If you have a kind of stand up for me. At this moment, Zhang Zizhong's voice was as strong as thunder, and there was no expression on his face, but it was more frightening than ever.
There was another silence, no one dared to speak out, only the Linyi River flowed silently. Subsequently, Zhang Zizhong broke through the long sky with a sneer, and he said: "Since no one dares to admit it, then check everyone, in the unit of company, everyone will take off their pants for me, and none of them will be allowed to miss." ”
At the same time that Zhang Zizhong gave the order, Sun Eryong, who was standing behind him, immediately shivered, only to see him tremble and walk out of the queue.
Who is this Sun Eryong? It was none other than Zhang Zizhong's guard battalion commander, who had also saved Zhang Zizhong's life. When Zhang Zizhong was acting mayor of Beiping, a traitor assassinated Zhang Zizhong, and Sun Eryongfen blocked the bullet despite being Zhang Zizhong. How could such a brave and faithful man do such a stupid thing?
For a moment, Zhang Zizhong couldn't believe his eyes, and he asked sharply, "Did you do it?" ”。 Sun Eryong nodded, and Zhang Zizhong closed his eyes and spat out a word from his mouth: "Kill!" ”
Before the execution, Sun Eryong confessed to the chief of military justice: "I will be 30 years old soon, but I have never touched a woman, and this time I have fought a decisive battle with Japanese devils, and I know that there are many evils and fewer ji." When I saw that girl, I was impulsive and confused, and I knew that I could not escape the military law, and I only wanted to let me see the commander again before I died. ”
The chief of the military justice department took Sun Eryong to Zhang Zizhong's account, but Zhang Zizhong slapped the table and shouted angrily: "I don't see him, you go and tell him to go on the road with peace of mind, and the old mother in his family will be supported by me." After saying that, Zhang Zizhong took a pot of wine and drank it all, and two lines of hot tears came out of his eyes.
Soon after, a crisp gunshot came from outside the account, and Zhang Zizhong stood by himself, always looking in the direction of the gunshots. After a long time, he said with tears: "Brother, feel free to go on the road, and the Japanese devils will be handed over to us." ”
On March 27, 1938, the Japanese army launched a fierce attack on the positions of the Fifty-ninth Army, and Zhang Zizhong telegraphed to Li Zongren: He still has a job and will not fight the enemy to the end. The Fifty-ninth Army was worthy of the title of Iron Army, and under the leadership of Zhang Zizhong, it fought fiercely with the Japanese Kou for more than two days.
On March 29, 1938, Li Zongren sent the 111th Division and the 13th Cavalry Regiment to aid Linyi, and the Japanese army began to retreat. Zhang Zizhong felt that there was something wrong with this, and he told Li Zongren that the Japanese army might not be fleeing, but dispatching the main force to besiege Taierzhuang.
Therefore, Li Zongren ordered the Fifty-ninth Army to go to Lanling to block the Japanese army. At Lanling, the Fifty-ninth Army encountered the Japanese Banheng Division. This Japanese division was equipped with a large number of mechanized combat equipment and was known as the "Gang Army".
Zhang Zizhong led the Iron Army to a bloody battle with the Banheng Division, dragging the Banheng Division's Sakamoto detachment to Lanling for more than 50 days, making it impossible to attack Taierzhuang from the south, providing a flanking guarantee for the final victory of Taierzhuang.
After the victory at the Battle of Taierzhuang, Zhang Zizhong said to the aide-de-camp, "Take me to Sun Eryong's cemetery to have a look." ”
Zhang Zizhong came to Sun Eryong's tomb, quietly lit a cigarette and placed it in front of the grave, standing for a long time, silent. Suddenly, a figure flashed next to him.
The adjutant immediately pulled out his pistol and shouted, "Who?" Get out or you'll be shot. Only a familiar voice could be heard: "Deputy Wang, it's me, Sun Eryong, don't shoot." Hearing this answer, zhang Zizhong and Wang's lieutenants were shocked.
Only to see Sun Eryong come out from the depths of the woods, he was emaciated and wearing a tattered military uniform, and came to Zhang Zizhong and told him about the causes and consequences. It turned out that on the day Sun Eryong was taken to execution, that shot did not hit the point.
After Sun Eryong fell, everyone thought he was dead, so they found ordinary people nearby and paid them to help bury him. Who knows, when the people carried Sun Eryong into the coffin, Sun Eryong came back to life.
The common people also lamented that he had meritorious deeds in killing the enemy in his daily life, and also asked Langzhong to treat him. After Sun Eryong recovered from his injuries, he was bent on returning to Zhang Zizhong's side to make meritorious deeds, and he had the previous scene.
But what Sun Eryong did not expect was that Zhang Zizhong would not tolerate him. Zhang Zizhong sighed, "Brother, military law is military law, you can go on the road with peace of mind, I will help you with the matter of killing devils." ”
Sun Eryong knew that he would still be unable to escape death, and Pu Tong knelt in front of Zhang Zizhong. A gunshot shattered the long sky, and the shock flew up, and the sun was like blood.