Speaking of General Chen Geng, many people know that he is a revolutionary founder with great military achievements. He was Chiang Kai-shek's "savior", the elite of the special branch who threatened to shake the beach, and the brigade commander in "Bright Sword" who scared Li Yunlong to death. He was a general who accompanied the whole process of the growth and expansion of the people's army, and made great contributions to the cause of the liberation of the Chinese people.
Because of his outstanding contributions, in 1955 Chen Geng was awarded the rank of Grand General; and was awarded the Order of August 1st Class, the Order of Independence and Freedom of the First Class, and the Liberation Medal of the First Class.
However, it was extremely sad that Chen Geng, who had gone to Shanghai for convalescence due to myocardial infarction, died young on March 16, 1961.[1] Chen Geng's unexpected death caused a huge shock in the party and the military.
What is particularly touching is that Lieutenant General Guo Huaruo, deputy commander of the Nanjing Military Region, cried incessantly in front of Chen Geng's spiritual hall;
He even said something like this: The parents of those who gave birth to me are also chen geng who know me.
So who is Guo Hua, why do you have such deep feelings for Chen Geng?
Chen Geng
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="4" > are both Huangpu graduates, and Chen Geng has a better experience</h1>
Chen Geng was originally named Chen Shukang, born in February 1903 in Xiangxiang City, Hunan Province. He left home at the age of 14 to join rong; later, in search of the truth to save the country, Chen Geng joined the Communist Party of China in 1922.
In 1924, he entered the first phase of Huangpu and was known as the "Huangpu Three Masters" together with Jiang Xianyun and He Zhihan. After graduating from the first term of Whampoa, he began his career as a horseman from the Eastern Crusade until the end of the Korean War in 1953.
Guo Huaruo was born in 1904 and is a native of Fuzhou, Fujian Province. Due to family difficulties, the parents had to endure the pain of selling their two daughters. Guo Huaruo came to Guangzhou for some reason after middle school and joined the Kuomintang in January 1924.
In the autumn of 1925, Guo Huaruo was admitted to the fourth phase of the Whampoa Military Academy, and his results ranked first among more than 3,000 applicants; during his time at the military academy, he came into contact with Marxism and joined the party in the same year. As a Huangpu Ivyorth term student, Guo Huaruo must have heard of Chen Geng's name from his teachers and classmates.
Guo Huaruo
Perhaps at that time, he had already admired this senior, but he would never have thought that he would have such a deep affection for Chen Geng in the future. After graduating from the Whampoa Military Academy, Guo Huaruo stayed on campus like Chen Geng and was appointed acting captain of the second artillery team (Chen Geng was the commander of the second enlisted student company of the Whampoa Military Academy and the deputy captain of the third undergraduate group).
When Chen Geng participated in the Eastern Crusade and became famous for "saving the car in the line of fire", Guo Huaruo was serving as the leader of the second artillery brigade at the Central Military and Political School. Interestingly, Chiang Kai-shek co-opted Chen Geng as a staff officer, and at the same time wanted to co-opt Guo Huaruo as a staff secretary; but both of them, in their own communist beliefs, sternly rejected Chiang's high-ranking official Houlu.
In July 1927, Chen Geng's Special Service Battalion of the Second Front Was forcibly disarmed by the Kuomintang authorities; so he entered He Long's 20th Army and participated in the Nanchang Uprising as a battalion commander. At this time, Guo Huaruo's teaching group was also ordered to move east into Nanchang.
Nanchang Uprising
In early August, however, the Kuomintang authorities detained the regiment in Jiujiang, preventing it from participating in the actions of the Nanchang rebels. If Guo Hua is impatient, he will also be in danger after a long time. After contemplation, Guo Huaruo resolutely decided to break away from the teaching group and go south alone like Chen Yi.
After much hardship, in late September Guo Huaruo came to Sanheba to join some of the rebel army led by Zhu De.
However, if Guo Hua had not yet had time to exert his ambitions, the main force of the Nanchang rebel army had already failed. During the previous fierce battle with the main force of the Nationalist Army, Chen Geng was shot in three places in the left leg, especially the tendon fracture at the knee, and it was difficult to walk; he was forced to go to Hong Kong for treatment. The remnants of the rebel army were scattered, but Guo Huaruo was sent to study at the Moscow Artillery School in the Soviet Union.
Two years later, Guo Huaruo returned to China after completing his studies, first came to the Western Fujian Soviet Region, and then served as a member of the Former Enemy Committee of the Fourth Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (the predecessor of the Red First Army).
When Chiang Kai-shek co-opted Guo Huaruo to be his staff secretary, some people ridiculed Guo Huaruo and said: With your talents, if you cannot be president Chiang Kai-shek's chief of staff in the future, you will also have to be the chief of staff of the Communist army.
Chiang Kai-shek
History is sometimes so interesting, in 1931 Guo Huaruo, with his outstanding military talents, first served as the chief of staff of the General Headquarters of the Red Army (formed by the merger of the Red First Army and the Red Third Army), and assisted Mao Zedong and Zhu De in repelling Chiang Kai-shek's first "encirclement and suppression" of the Soviet region.
Later, he acted as secretary general of the Provisional General Front Committee of the Red Army of the Communist Party of China, and finally became the acting chief of staff; during this period, the Red Army repeatedly won battles and defeated Chiang Kai-shek's "second" and "third" encirclement and suppression.
Mao Zedong also admired Guo Huaruo, and once after returning to the Red 4 Army for some reason, he talked to Guo Huaruo. Mao Zedong said: "You are a Native of Fujian, but your insight is not 'floating at all', it is 'deep-sighted'; it is deeply visible. ”
And where did Chen Geng go during this period? After Guo Huaruo went to the Soviet Union, Chen Geng went to Shanghai to treat his wounds with the help of the organization.
In November 1927, the Party Central Committee planned to establish the Central Special Branch, which was a defense organization created by Zhou Enlai personally to protect the security of the Party Central Committee.
Mao Zedong
In April 1928, Chen Geng began to serve as the chief of the Intelligence Section of the Central Special Branch. He led the Intelligence Section in detecting intelligence in many ways and made important contributions to the rescue of captured comrades and the severe punishment of traitors. It can be said that by this time, Guo Huaruo and Chen Geng had never worked together.
If we want to say that Chen Geng was able to be Guo Huaruo's leader later, we must talk about the past events of Chen Geng and Chiang Kai-shek. Speaking of Chen Geng's Huangpu years, everyone relished "Chen Geng saved Jiang".
It was the morning of October 7, 1925, and Chiang Kai-shek personally commanded the Second Crusade of the Guangdong Revolutionary Army; its headquarters and the 3rd Division were operating together.
As a result, they marched to Huayang and suddenly bumped into the enemy's main force; the commander of the 3rd Division was out of command, and the troops fell into chaos. Chiang Kai-shek saw Chen Geng, the commander of the guard company, and ordered him to act as the commander of the 3rd Division.
However, although Chen Geng tried his best, he could not save the defeat. Seeing that the army was defeated like a mountain, Chiang Kai-shek, who had not been able to survive two days ago, was suddenly discouraged. He shouted loudly, "I don't have the face to go back to see Father Jiangdong, I can only kill Chengren." Fortunately, thanks to Chen Geng coming over and coaxing him to persuade him, Chiang Kai-shek changed his mind.
Seeing that Chiang Kai-shek was so flustered that he could not even open his legs; Chen Geng quickly retreated on his back and walked for several miles until he crossed a river before he got out of danger. Then Chen Geng ran to Haifeng overnight to rescue the troops, which completely saved Chiang Kai-shek.
At the end of 1931, Chen Geng left Shanghai to work in the Red Fourth Front; in September 1932, Chen Geng suffered another serious injury to his right leg and knee and was forced to go to Shanghai for treatment.
On March 24, 1933, Chen Geng was ready to go to the Central Soviet District. But after he left the house, the traitor Chen Liansheng stared at him. The two wrestled, and Chen Geng couldn't run because of his leg injury, and was arrested and put into the patrol room.
After his arrest, Chen Geng first arrived in Nanjing, and gu Zhenglun, commander of the Kuomintang gendarmerie, tried unsuccessfully to persuade him to surrender; then Gu Zhenglun called on Chen Geng's Huangpu classmates and communists who had already surrendered to persuade him to surrender, and also touched a nose of ash.
Later, in April, Chen Geng was escorted to Nanchang, and Chiang Kai-shek personally came to persuade him to surrender.
Chiang Kai-shek valued him very much, once saying that "five Hu Zongnan is not as good as one Chen Geng"; Chiang Pretended to care about the students: "Chen Geng, you have lost a lot of weight over the years." ”
Chen Geng taunted Chiang Kai-shek: "Thin and fat, the principal is also much thinner; but as a leader, you are thinner and thinner in the world. ”
Chiang Kai-shek said that he could not do it, and he used the high-ranking official Houlu as bait, and Chen Geng was not moved.
After Chiang Kai-shek returned to Nanjing, the "Mother of the Nation" Soong Ching-ling personally visited Chen Geng at the door, and dozens of Nationalist generals also jointly wrote a letter to intercede.
Faced with the dilemma of not being able to kill or let go, Chiang Kai-shek had no choice but to order Chen Geng to be taken back to Nanjing, and then deliberately relaxed his custody of Chen Geng; so in May, Chen Geng escaped with the help of Soong Ching Ling and the underground party.
Song Qingling
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="35" > Chen Geng participated in the Long March and assisted Guo Huaruo many times</h1>
If Chiang Kai-shek had not remembered the life-saving grace of that year and resolutely imprisoned Chen Geng; then the fate of Chen Geng and the fate of Guo Huaruo would have been unimaginable. After Chen Geng escaped from Shanghai, he finally came to the Central Soviet District in Jiangxi; however, when he arrived in the Soviet Area, Chen Geng was poured cold water.
Guo Huaruo was not spared and was assigned to the Red Army School as a teacher. Guo Huaruo's heart was full of grievances and pain, but he still obeyed the decision of the organization.
Although Chen Geng had served as chief of staff of the Red Fourth Front, his military talents had nowhere to be displayed; he could only serve as the principal of the 1st Infantry School of the Red Army, the Pengyang Infantry School. Despite the opposition of others, BoguLide insisted on engaging in positional warfare with the superior Kuomintang army, but Chen Geng was unable to make a strong move and called out in vain. In October 1934, the Central Red Army began the Long March, and Chen Geng was appointed as the head of the Red Army cadre regiment.
The Long March of the Red Army
This cadre regiment was formed by the merger of several Red Army schools in the Central Soviet Region, and there were many Red Army officers like Guo Huaruo; Chen Geng, who had been the chief of staff of the Red Fourth Front, could only be a district commander; to some extent, it was comparable to Li Yunlong as the director of the quilt factory.
However, Chen Geng has always been an optimist, and although he is in the face of adversity, he is still open-minded and cheerful, which has inspired many comrades.
On the one hand, Chen Geng took care of and protected Xu Teli, Lin Boqu, and other veteran comrades, and on the other hand, he used his position as the head of the regiment to fight for the rights of the comrades of the cadre regiment.
Forced to abandon the Su district, Guo Huaruo's heel was injured and suppurative, and it was difficult to walk. In order to cover the transfer of the main force of the Red Army, some officers and men must be left to insist. For various reasons, Guo Huaruo was also retained. At this time, Chen Geng played a huge role, facing Guo Huaruo, who was alone and alone; Chen Geng insisted on the truth and won the opportunity for Guo Huaruo to accompany the troops on the Long March.
However, when Guo Huaruo was ready to leave, he could not receive the new military uniform. Chen Geng was furious when he heard the news, and personally went to the supply department to find someone to evaluate. Although he ran in vain in the end, Guo Huaruo was very grateful to Chen Geng.
After the Long March, Guo Huaruo couldn't walk fast at all because of his foot injury; but he still gritted his teeth and insisted that he would never fall too far behind. When recalling this arduous journey, he once issued the following exclamation: "Others say that the Long March has nothing else but to rely on my own two legs; but I can't even rely on my own two legs, and can only rely on my own heart that is loyal to the party." ”
It was not until Zunyi, because the central government could rest for a few days at a meeting; Guo Huaruo's heel slowly healed.
Guo Huaruo's situation was so embarrassing, but Chen Geng still did not abandon him; he was even appointed as the chief of the operations section of the cadre regimental headquarters. Although he had been demoted to an ordinary teacher, Chen Geng asked him to do crucial staff work; Guo Huaruo was very grateful to Chen Geng.
Chen Geng joked, "What did you say?" You are the chief of staff of our Red Army, and now you are asked to be a staff officer to me, the regimental commander; it is really overkill, and I have wronged you. ”
Guo Huaruo later said: "Because of Chen Geng's trust and encouragement, I saw warmth in the trough of my life; so I followed the Red Army to complete the Long March and move toward victory." ”
Battle of the Xiang River
Don't look at Guo Huaruo before Zunyi, it is very difficult to walk; but he still proved his talent with one action.
It was the eve of reaching Liping, and there was an enemy on a certain hill that blocked the advance of the cadre regiment. So Chen Geng sent a certain staff officer to lead a battalion to attack; he did not expect that the enemy had some combat effectiveness, and as soon as this staff officer went up, he was beaten back by others.
Chen Geng saw this scene in the telescope, so he turned to Song Renqian, the political commissar of the cadre regiment, and said, "It seems that we must send a capable person up." ”
Chen Geng looked at the cadres around him, and Guo Huaruo ignored the injuries on his feet and said, "I will go and promise to complete the task!" So Guo Huaruo, together with the staff officer, led the team to launch an attack again.
Unexpectedly, the staff officer's leg was penetrated by a bullet, and Guo Huaruo quickly ordered someone to carry him down, and then calmly commanded the battle. He ordered the main force to attack head-on, one after another to detour back behind this enemy force. After all, this enemy army had never seen such a capable unit of the Red Army, and when it saw that its rear road was about to be cut, it quickly retreated.
Guo Hua accepted it if he saw that it was good, and when he saw that the enemy was far away, he quickly took this battalion back to catch up with the large troops. After this battle, everyone admired Guo Huaruo. After arriving in northern Shaanxi, Chen Geng began to work in the Red 31St Army in early 1937.
In August 1937, the Red 31st Army was reorganized into the 386th Brigade of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, and Chen Geng became the brigade commander, thus beginning the arduous eight-year war of resistance. Guo Huaruo is mainly engaged in training and teaching.
After 1946, Guo Huaruo came to Shandong and later became a cadre general of the East China Field Army;
In 1955, Guo Huaruo was awarded the rank of lieutenant general.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="57" > Chen Geng was hospitalized to meet his comrades-in-arms, and Fu Ya accompanied him to his deathbed</h1>
After Yan'an parted, Guo Huaruo and Chen Geng never worked together again. Unlike Guo Huaruo, who was physically tough and lived to the age of 92; the long years of conquest made Chen Geng already scarred.
In 1954, just as the "Kazakh military industry" began to take shape[2], Chen Geng's angina began to occur frequently. This also dates back to when Chen Geng was arrested, when the great traitor Gu Shunzhang was ordered to surrender and was scolded by Chen Geng.
So Gu Shunzhang frantically electrocuted Chen Geng and damaged his heart muscles. After that, due to years of conquest and no good medical conditions, his illness slowly developed. After Chen Geng fell ill, the doctor advised him to work less and rest more, but he was busier.
At the end of 1957, shortly after Chen Geng visited the Soviet Union and returned to China, he suddenly had a myocardial infarction. This time he was bedridden for 3 months, and then Chen Geng asked the doctor every day for permission to discharge him. The doctor had no choice but to report to the central authorities, and the central authorities replied that he could only work one hour a day. Chen Geng still didn't want to die at work; once he ignored persuasion to see the new equipment test, and when he returned, he looked tired and pale.
In the winter of 1960, Chen Geng, who had just suffered a myocardial infarction half a year ago, felt that the winter in Beijing this year was particularly cold. While changing clothes, the staff found that his shirt was all scratched and torn, and you can imagine how much pain he was in.
In February 1961, Chen Geng had a recurrence of myocardial infarction and had to go to Shanghai for convalescence; he stayed at the Huashan Road East China Bureau Guest House, accompanied by his wife Fu Ya.[3]
Coincidentally, Su Yu happened to be living in the ward next door to Chen Geng. General Su Yu was injured 6 times in his life, especially three pieces of shrapnel were left in his brain forever; so he had a serious headache. This time, Chairman Mao specially approved that Su Yu should go to Shanghai for treatment and recuperation.
The two veterans, who had given everything for the cause of the new Chinese revolution, were now hospitalized together. The two embraced each other tightly, as if there were endless words. The two talked for almost a day, and Chen Geng's lunch was eaten in Su Yu's ward.
Su Yu
The next morning, Li Kenong also came to Chen Geng's side, and Su Yu followed behind. Chen Geng was extremely excited: "Li Kenong! How did you come! It seems that wherever I go, you boy will follow me! ”
Li Kenong joined the Communist Party of China in 1926, and Chen Geng was in Shanghai when he was in Shanghai.
Li Kenong took the risk of conveying Qian Zhuangfei's intelligence, and the Communists, including Chen Geng, escaped the disaster. Later, Li Kenong realized that the radio station of Chen Geng's headquarters was being monitored by the enemy, and saved Chen Geng's life. The relationship between the two is really not ordinary.
Worthy of being the "king of secret agents", Li Kenong secretly brought a bottle of liquor without anyone; the three of them drank freely around the hospital bed. During his illness, Chen Geng wrote a letter to Chairman Mao, hoping to be discharged from the hospital at an early date. Chairman Mao wrote back to him to take care of his health and to consider the matter of work in the long run.
Li Kenong
On the evening of March 15, 1961, Chen Geng was still conceiving his "Summary of Combat Experience." He was anxious to leave his precious wealth to the young people who came after him; but after writing the Preface, he could no longer write.
Before going to bed that day, Fu Ya sat by the bedside and talked to Chen Geng, and the couple talked about many past events. This last conversation, Fu Ya remembered very clearly until his death.
Chen Geng said: "Thank you for taking care of Genying's child Zhifei for so many years, you are so hard! Wang Genying was the wife of Chen Geng, who gave birth to his son Chen Zhifei while he was in Shanghai.
In 1939, Wang Genying was sacrificed, and later Fu Ya married Chen Geng and always regarded knowing what was wrong as his own.
Fu Ya replied very happily: "All old husbands and wives, what are you polite?" Perhaps Chen Geng already had a premonition, and he talked to Fu Ya until very late before going to sleep calmly.
The next morning, Fu Ya woke up and called out to Chen Geng, Chen Geng's eyes were closed and there was no reaction; Fu Ya pushed again, and Chen Geng was still silent. He'll never wake up again! When he realized that Chen Geng had died, Fu Ya cried to death!
Chen Geng and his wife Fu Ya
On this day, Su Yu came to look for Chen Geng very late, but saw that the whole ward was crying. Shocked to hear of Chen Geng's death, Su Yu cried loudly, clutching the edge of the hospital bed with both hands, and finally fainted on the ground.
Li Kenong's hospital room was upstairs, and Fu Ya called him: "Old Li! Chen Geng he left this morning! Li Kenong cried bitterly after hearing this, and almost had a nervous breakdown.
At noon, his mood had just stabilized a little, and the nurse brought him a bottle of good wine. Li Kenong poured himself a glass of wine and suddenly slammed the glass.
He cried, "Chen Geng is gone!" What's the point of drinking this wine! ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="77" > premier mentioned the word for Chen Geng, Guo Huaruo did not want to die</h1>
Chen Geng's unexpected death actually reveals a cruel reality: too many veterans who have experienced the cruel war years were already full of injuries when they founded the country.
Before, due to the brutal war, everyone rarely considered non-fatal injuries, but they would explode to a certain extent; this is an objective law that no one's will can change! At the same time, Lin Biao, Liu Bocheng, Su Yu, etc. were all in this situation, which also prompted the PLA to begin to take seriously the problem of injuries and illnesses of officers and soldiers.
When he heard that Chen Geng had passed away at the age of only 58, Premier Zhou was shocked to hear the news; he recalled that he had contracted a vicious disease in Mao'ergai Grassland and it was Chen Geng who carried him out of the meadow!
With such a lifelong feeling, how could Zhou Enlai not be grief-stricken. He ended his inspection in Guangzhou ahead of schedule and returned to Beijing to attend Chen Geng's memorial service.
Guo Huaruo, who was already the deputy commander of the Nanjing Military Region, couldn't believe it when he heard the bad news: Elder Chen Geng, you are only one year older than me! You came to Shanghai to recuperate this time, I actually did not take the time to see you, I really regret it!
Premier Zhou
The party Central Committee quickly formed the Committee for the Management of The Funeral of Comrade Chen Geng, with Lin Biao as the chairman of the committee and 34 leaders, including Deng Xiaoping, Luo Ronghuan, Ye Jianying, and Liu Bocheng, as members.
On March 25, 1961, the memorial service for General Chen Geng was held, and Marshal Xu Qianqian, Chen Geng's deputy division commander at the time, supported the tearful Premier Zhou and bowed three times to General Chen Geng; Premier Zhou's handwritten inscription "The Ashes of Comrade Chen Geng" was later engraved on Chen Geng's urn.
Minister of Public Security General Luo Ruiqing delivered a eulogy. With tears in his eyes and trembling voice, he said: "Comrade Chen Geng has made great contributions to the establishment and development of China all his life for the country and the people; his death is a great loss for China, and his revolutionary spirit is worth learning from all the Chinese people!" ”
After that, Guo Huaruo, who was faltering, threw himself down as soon as he entered Chen Geng's spiritual hall; others helped him up, and Guo Huaruo cried out in grief: "The parents of those who gave birth to me, Chen Gengye, who knows me!" ”
After Chen Geng was buried in Babaoshan, Guo Huaruo also wrote to Fu Ya and expressed his most sincere gratitude for Chen Geng's kindness.
He said: "If it wasn't for Chen Geng helping me back then, I wouldn't know where I am now; I still can't accept his death."
It was still Fu Ya who saw that he was so depressed, and he quickly found someone to comfort Guo Huaruo, so that he could come out of his grief.
In the following decades, every time he talked about Chen Geng with others, Guo Huaruo was full of praise. He said that Chen Geng was definitely not just a leader for him, but more of a friend.
After 1973, Guo Huaruo worked at the Academy of Military Sciences until 1982; he wrote many works, both expounding military theory and nostalgia for Chen Geng.
In November 1995, General Guo Huaruo also completed his glorious life. May these two old comrades-in-arms who are full of hearts and guts be able to continue their friendship underground.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="111", see ></h1>
CHEN Geng. People's Daily News [Cited 2012-09-25]
Introduction to the Military Engineering College of the People's Liberation Army of Chinese. Sohu Education. 2012-11-16
[3] The wives of the founding generals of the Republic were exposed in family photos. Sina.com-People's Daily News. 2015-12-21