In September 1954, at the first session of the First National People's Congress, Mao Zedong proposed that Zheng Dongguo, a Kuomintang general, be appointed as a member of the National Defense Commission.
Mao Zedong wanted to set up a banquet to invite Zheng Dongguo to dinner, and Zheng Dongguo was very nervous.
On the same day, Zheng Dongguo was still a few minutes late, and He Long, Ye Jianying, and Lu Zhonglin had already arrived. Zheng Dongguo walked to the door with some restraint, and as soon as Mao Zedong saw him, he got up from the sofa, greeted him at the door, and said to him in a thick Hunan accent: "Zheng Dongguo, Zheng Dongguo, your name is so loud!" ”
The crowd laughed loudly next to them, and Zheng Dongguo was slightly relaxed.
After taking his seat, Mao Zedong asked Zheng Dongguo whether he smoked, and Zheng Dongguo responded: "Smoke." Mao Zedong's cigarette was right next to it, Zheng Dongguo took out one to light, Mao Zedong stood up, very agilely wiped a match, and approached to light a cigarette for Zheng Dongguo.
This detail, the leaders present have become accustomed to, Mao Zedong did not deliberately act easy-going, he was actually very kind to anyone around him.
Pictured| Jeong Dong-kook
But Zheng Dongguo, who had come into contact with Mao Zedong for the first time, was very shocked, and he had been in the Kuomintang official arena for more than 20 years, and no superior would ever treat him like this, let alone Chiang Kai-shek, and most of them had the arrogance of superiority, arrogance, and intimidation.
Zheng Dongguo wrote in his memoirs:
"Chairman Mao, the number one of the Communist Party, the head of state, and the leader supported by the people, actually lit a cigarette for me, which cannot but make me feel that the leader of the Communist Party is not an official, but a simple servant of the people, both ordinary and great."
Zheng Dongguo followed Chiang Kai-shek for more than 20 years, and after the defeat in Changchun, he became a surrender general, and at first he was extremely dissatisfied, but he could not help but be curious about Mao Zedong and could not help but compare Chiang Kai-shek with Mao Zedong. After this feast, he really changed his position, served the people, and took the revolutionary road.
In February 1948, the Northeast Democratic United Army of the Communist Party of China had already taken important cities such as Liaoyang and Anshan, and the Kuomintang only had three "isolated islands" in the northeast, Shenyang, Changchun and Jinzhou.
Zheng Dongguo, then deputy commander-in-chief of the Kuomintang "Suppression General" and commander of the First Corps, led his troops to hold the Changchun Fortress. At that time, the Japanese army built a strong fortification in Changchun, and the defenders were Chiang Kai-shek's 60,000 concubine troops, and the united States was equipped with weapons, and Chiang Kai-shek was very confident in this.
Figure | Liu Jiashu, Zheng Dongguo, Qiu Qingquan, Huang Jie, Xu Tingyao, Du Yuming
At the end of April, the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China agreed to attack Changchun, and the Northeast Military Region set up a front-line siege command post, with Xiao Jinguang as commander and Xiao Hua as political commissar.
In May, the People's Liberation Army had completed the encirclement of Changchun, and when the first attempt was made, the enemy struggled to resist. The command post decided to change the strong attack to a long siege.
At first, Zheng Dongguo was able to control the airfield outside the city to provide supplies to the city, but soon the airport was lost, and the supply of military food in Changchun could only rely on airdrops, and 40 flights a day were required to meet the demand.
The threat of PLA artillery and anti-aircraft machine guns caused these planes to airdrop supplies to flee one after another, or to throw themselves at high altitudes, unable to accurately throw themselves into the city. So there are actually only a dozen airdrops that can be airdropped every day, and when the weather is bad, not a single plane can come.
Because of the lack of food, the morale of the army was broken, the defenders began to rob the people of grain in spite of military orders, some people began to speculate, and the price of goods in the city soared. The Changchun branch of the central bank had no choice but to issue promissory notes, and later the face value reached billions or even tens of billions.
Famine riots, the defenders and police opened fire and suppressed, and many people died. Soldiers go to grab food whenever they see smoke coming from someone's chimney. Zheng Dongguo's ban on grain must not be robbed, but it has done nothing.
In September, Lin Biao captured Jinzhou, and the plan of the Kuomintang Northeast "Suppression General" to count on Shenyang to support the Changchun defenders to break through was completely foiled.
At this time, Zheng Dongguo was so confused and depressed.
Chiang Kai-shek issued a secret order for Zheng Dongguo to quickly break through, "If you do not obey the order to break through, you will definitely engage in military law."
And how did these defenders, who ate lees and chaff fight the PLA? The Kuomintang Shenyang side asked Zheng Dongguo to use poison gas bombs immediately, but Zheng Dongguo categorically refused. During the War of Resistance, he saw countless Chinese die under poison gas bombs, and he really could not bear to use this weapon on his compatriots again.
The People's Liberation Army will set up a radio station about five kilometers from the front line, and at night the loudspeaker will begin to "attack the heart" battle, shouting the name of the fellow countryman, the name of the son's milk... Not long after, the Kuomintang generals began to surrender in large areas holding white flags, and Zheng Dongguo severely punished them, and all the deserters were captured and killed, which actually aroused public indignation.
The soldiers had no fighting spirit, and the danger was imminent, and Zheng Dongguo personally summoned the senior generals to a meeting. Although Zeng Zesheng, commander of the Sixty Army, came to attend the meeting, he looked unusual and left halfway through. Zheng Dongguo did not feel right, and that night someone told Zheng Dongguo that the Sixty Army was preparing for an uprising. In this way, Changchun is equal to being divided into two, and Zheng Dongguo is powerless to return to heaven.
Soon, Zeng Zesheng called, and Zheng Dongguo thought that he had "changed his mind", but he did not expect that he was helping Liu Tao, a representative of the People's Liberation Army, to answer the phone, the purpose of which was to persuade Zheng Dongguo to lay down his weapons.
Immediately afterward, the New Seventh Army also chose to surrender, and early the next morning the chief of staff came to see Zheng Dongguo and advised him to act together.
Zheng Dongguo said helplessly: "I don't agree with your approach, since you have decided to lay down your weapons, then you do yours, I will do mine." ”
Du Yuming urgently contacted Zheng Dongguo, saying that Chiang Kai-shek had sent a helicopter to rescue him and asking him if he had a landing site. And Zheng Dongguo was ready to coexist and die with the isolated city, he telegraphed Chiang Kai-shek, "Goodbye in the next life, and loaded a bullet in the pistol he has worn for many years, this bullet is prepared for himself, and when he sleeps, he puts it under the pillow."
On this night, the gunfire near the headquarters was continuous, and when Zheng Dongguo went to see it, the People's Liberation Army had already entered the headquarters.
Zheng Dongguo was under the pillow, and the pistol was gone. He suddenly understood that his men were afraid of him killing himself and secretly took his pistol away. Zheng Dongguo was anxious to find something in the house that could kill himself, and the guards guarding the door heard it and rushed in and hugged Zheng Dongguo.
Zheng Anfan, a nephew who lived next door to Zheng Dongguo and was then the director of the Secretariat of the Jilin Provincial Government, also ran over and knelt down in front of him and begged him not to think about it.
Pictured| Zheng Dongguo and his wife and adopted daughter
Zheng Dongguo suddenly realized that some of his senior staff and guards had already chosen to surrender under the inspiration of the People's Liberation Army. It turned out that the gunfire outside the headquarters today was that they pretended to be a gunfight, causing the People's Liberation Army to be caught off guard by the appearance of the troops approaching the headquarters, and it was planned to prompt Zheng Dongguo to surrender together in this way.
After the battle, Zheng Dongguo and his men walked out of the city and surrendered.
Zheng Dongguo's mood at this time was unwilling and ashamed, and he was already mentally prepared, thinking that he would be scorned or insulted by the People's Liberation Army.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he left the city, he met Xiao Jinguang and Xiao Hua, and both generals greeted him warmly, without a trace of arrogance and contempt. That night, they hosted a banquet at the headquarters to entertain Jeong Dong-kook.
Zheng Dongguo was usually silent and taciturn, and after drinking two glasses of wine, he did not want to speak. Xiao Jinguang and Xiao Hua saw that Zheng Dongguo's face was full of unhappiness and was still hostile to them, and they still toasted zheng Dongguo very kindly and gave Zheng Dongguo a dish, just like treating an old friend.
Zheng Dongguo has been looking down and drinking, rarely saying anything, in fact, he is still very grateful in his heart. After a moment of psychological struggle, he stood up and said to the two generals: "This is the best meal I have eaten in months, and I am very grateful for the hospitality of the two generals." I have been engaged in the Kuomintang for more than twenty years, and now that I have failed, I am of course left to the task; as for the officers and men under my command, if anyone is willing to go home, I hope to let them go back. ”
Pictured| When Zheng Dongguo (center) had just arrived in Harbin
Xiao Hua promised that Zheng Dongguo would properly place his subordinates, and he explained our party's policy and regulations, saying that if they wanted to go home, the organization would do its best to help them go home, and those who wanted to stay would also ignore the previous suspicions and treat them equally.
After the meal, Xiao Jinguang asked Zheng Dongguo what plans he had for the future. Zheng Dongguo's face was somber, and he said bluntly: "First, I will not go to the radio and publish the newspaper; second, I will not go to the public banquet." ”
Xiao Jinguang and Xiao Hua happily agreed to him, and warmly invited him to go to Harbin to see what he could do for the people in the future.
Zheng Dongguo resolutely refused: "I just want to be a common man." ”
The two generals were not in a hurry, and euphemistically proposed: "You do not want to work, or take a break, or study for a period of time, please choose at will." ”
Xiao Jinguang and Xiao Hua's proposal was in line with Zheng Dongguo's thoughts, and he chose to study for a while. He and some of his subordinates set off for the Harbin Liberated Area, where he lived for 3 months.
The news of the liberation of Changchun reached Chiang Kai-shek, who immediately summoned Wei Lihuang and Du Yuming to Beiping to discuss the future course of action of the Kuomintang troops.
Soon after, Chiang Kai-shek instructed the Kuomintang-controlled newspapers to issue reports that Zheng Dongguo had been killed in the line of duty and that more than three hundred officers and soldiers had committed suicide with him.
Zheng Dongguo's wife and children were devastated after seeing the newspaper, and Zheng Dongguo's son Zheng Anteng also followed Du Yuming to Shenyang on a plane to cloth his father with Ma DaiXiao, and cried in front of Zheng Dongguo's portrait.
After the liberation of Shenyang, Zheng Anteng was taken to a command post of a certain unit of our army, and Zheng Anteng described to the crowd his experience of running for his father's funeral, and everyone laughed and laughed.
The comrades of the People's Liberation Army showed our army's newspaper to Zheng Anteng, which reported on the warm reception of Xiao Jinguang and Xiao Hua after Zheng Dongguo surrendered. They also took out a photo of Zheng Dongguo in Harbin recently showed it to Zheng Anteng, and Zheng Anteng instantly turned from sadness to joy.
Picture | Late 1950s, Du Yuming, Zheng Dongguo and Huang Xiang took a group photo
He spent his most leisurely time in years in Zheng Dongguo in Harbin, trusted by the Chinese Communist Party, who moved freely and could visit wherever he wanted. Looking at the parade of celebrations everywhere in the Liberated Areas, Zheng Dongguo's mood became more and more complicated.
The daily newspapers were delivered to Zheng Dongguo on time, and the Three Great Battles were defeated by the Kuomintang. At first, Zheng Dongguo became more and more upset the more he looked at it, but later, his mood gradually calmed down, and he began to think seriously.
He could trust that the Chinese Communist Party would be able to achieve a military victory in a short period of time and turn disadvantage into an advantage; but he had never understood how they governed the Liberated Areas and whether they would be able to govern a poor country with hundreds of millions of people in the future.
Zheng Dongguo began to look for Mao Zedong's works to read, at first he really could not read them, but then he saw the annotations and names, found a few names that he was very familiar with, and slowly read them with a strong curiosity.
He has also been paying great attention to the press in the Liberated Areas, seeing that the Communist Party has always been paying attention to production and helping the masses of the people in a down-to-earth manner so that they can live and gain dignity.
On the other hand, in the past 20 years or so, when did these people start fighting with Chiang Kai-shek, and they became more and more crooked? Zheng Dongguo saw that the people in Chiang Kai-shek's area were not happy, and he was also gradually numb to the gangs and gangs of his colleagues, corruption and bribery. If it is really saving the country and saving the people, why have we done it for more than 20 years, and the people can't feel it, but support the Communist Party and Mao Zedong?
In order to find out, Zheng Dongguo immersed himself in the "Selected Works of Mao Zedong", and later he also read "Selected Works of Lenin" and Stalin's "The Foundations of Leninism".
In January 1949, Zheng Dongguo moved from Harbin to Fushun, and the organization contacted his wife Chen Bilian and took her from Shanghai to Fushun for a reunion.
At that time, many of the captured Kuomintang generals were imprisoned in Fushun, and Zheng Dongguo's old subordinates Liao Yaoxiang and Zheng Tingdi were also inside, and he often took time to visit them.
Soon after, the surrender officers of the First Corps and the New 7th Army were dismissed, and the organization began to assign them jobs one after another, and several were sent to military academies as senior instructors.
Zheng Dongguo felt that he was lagging behind, and he couldn't help but feel a little sad.
In August 1950, Zheng Dongguo went to Shanghai for medical treatment because of his physical discomfort, and when he passed through Beijing, he stayed for a while, and Xiao Jinguang and Xiao Hua came to invite him to Quanjude to eat roast duck.
Unexpectedly, these two generals still thought about him, and Zheng Dongguo was busy apologizing for some of his words. Xiao Jinguang and Xiao Hua did not go to their hearts at all, smiling and saying that they could understand his mood at that time.
They ate and talked, and the two generals hoped that Zheng Dongguo would be able to participate in the work of "liberating Taiwan," but Zheng Dongguo hesitated. He did want to contribute to the new China, but he still had feelings for the Kuomintang, especially his former colleagues, and he could not meet them.
Pictured| Zheng Dongguo and his wife Chen Bilian
The two generals listened to him and had a slight disappointment on their faces, but they still politely encouraged Zheng Dongguo: "Just do something for the people, do what you do, how to do it, and fully respect your personal wishes." ”
This sentence made Zheng Dongguo's heart warm and remembered for a lifetime. Years later, he remained in touch with the two generals, a friendship that lasted until the end of their lives.
In October, Zheng Dongguo was very excited to hear that Premier Zhou Enlai wanted to see him. Zhou Enlai was still his teacher at the Whampoa Military Academy, and when he came to Zhou Enlai's house, he found that another teacher, Nie Rongzhen, was also there.
As soon as Zhou Enlai saw Zheng Dongguo, he stepped forward and took his hand and said, "Dongguo, I once wrote you a letter..."
Zheng Dongguo was stunned, obviously not seeing the letter at all. Zhou Enlai explained that it was written to Zheng Dongguo personally when the People's Liberation Army besieged Changchun, and Zheng Dongguo was touched and regretted after hearing it: "Premier! If I had seen your letter at that time, my transformation might have been faster, and I would not have been so stubborn. ”
Zhou Enlai waved his hand and smiled at him, "I will not mention the past, and we must do more for the people in the future." ”
Zhou Enlai also asked Zheng Dongguo what acquaintances he had in Beijing, and Zheng Dongguo mentioned Li Qizhong, a classmate and friend of Huangpu Phase I. Zhou Enlai immediately sent someone to invite Li Qizhong, who was then the counselor of the State Council, and the four teachers and students chatted warmly as soon as they met.
Pictured| In the 1960s, Zhou Enlai and Chen Geng took a group photo with former Kuomintang military and political personnel
"Front row from left: Zhou Enlai, Chen Geng, Shao Lizi, Zhang Zhizhong, Zheng Dongguo; second row from left: Li Qizhong, Huang Yong, Tang Shengming, Qin Xunzhi, Hou Jingru, Du Yuming, Zhou Zhenqiang; third row from left: Wang Yaowu, Yang Botao, Zheng Tingji, Zhou Jiabin, Song Xilian)"
Zhou Enlai asked Zheng Dongguo what he thought in the future, and Zheng Dongguo still said the same thing: "Go back to your hometown to farm." ”
Zhou Enlai saw through the students' thoughts at a glance, and he was not in a hurry to persuade Zheng Dongguo, but just let him raise his body first and come back to work at any time.
This time, Zhou Enlai did not look for Zheng Dongguo just to reminisce about the past, but hoped to get some real information about the US military from Zheng Dongguo.
Four months ago, the Korean War broke out. On October 3, Kim Il Sung sent an urgent letter to Mao Zedong to Beijing, eagerly anticipating that China would send troops to aid North Korea.
The Central Military Commission began to study the US military, and Zhou Enlai knew that among the generals of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, the one who knew the United States best was Sun Liren. After graduating from Tsinghua University, Sun Liren studied at the Virginia Military Academy in the United States and was born in the United States military class. But now that Sun Liren had gone to Taiwan, Zhou Enlai naturally thought of Zheng Dongguo.
In 1943, Zheng Dongguo served as the commander of the New First Army of China in India, and he retook northern Burma in alliance with the US army.
The country and the people need him, and Zheng Dongguo is naturally obligated, and he gave Zhou Enlai and Nie Rongzhen a detailed introduction to the US military, who believed that the US army could not fight a hard battle, mainly relying on weapons, and was very dependent on air supplies.
Zheng Dongguo gave an example, saying that when the Chinese and American armies jointly carry out combat missions, once the US military is tired, it will discard its ammunition and weapons, and then lose its clothes, and when it reaches its destination, it may only have a pair of pants left.
Zhou Enlai couldn't help but laugh and memorized Zheng Dongguo's words. Later, at a national defense conference, Zhou Enlai also quoted these things that Zheng Dongguo said, encouraging everyone to overcome their fear of the United States and to despise the United States strategically.
After Zheng Dongguo came to Shanghai, he saw the newly renovated "Adventurer's Paradise".
In 1945, just after the end of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Zheng Dongguo, then deputy commander-in-chief of the Kuomintang Third Front, was in charge of taking over Nanjing and Shanghai. He had witnessed Shanghai's smoky miasma and soaring prices. Today, it has truly become the world of the people, bullies, hooligans and prostitutes can no longer be seen on the streets, and the city is full of righteousness.
Zheng Dongguo couldn't help but blame himself: "Zheng Dongguo, Zheng Dongguo, you used to follow the wrong person!" ”
In June 1952, at the invitation of Zhou Enlai, Zheng Dongguo moved his family to Beijing and was officially appointed counselor of the Ministry of Water Resources.
In September 1954, Zheng Dongguo ate at the same table with Mao Zedong for the first time and had an intimate conversation.
At the banquet that day, Mao Zedong asked Zheng Dongguo about his current family situation, and after hearing that his son had graduated from Tongji University and had found a job in Shenyang, Mao Zedong nodded: "Family life is arranged, you have to do a job for the people!" I'm only 51 years old this year, and I'm still very young. ”
Figure| In 1947, the general Wei Demai went to the northeast to investigate, from left to Zheng Dongguo, Liao Yaoxiang, Wei Demai, xiong Shihui
Chairman Mao even clearly remembered his age and learned about his family's situation, and Zheng Dongguo nodded his head in touch and promised to work well and serve the people.
Previously, Zheng Dongguo had studied many of Mao Zedong's works, and the more he looked at it, the more he felt that Mao Zedong was a revolutionary with theories, ideas, and methods. In a relaxed and pleasant chat atmosphere, Zheng Dongguo accidentally asked a question that had been hidden in his heart for many years: "Why did your Marxism-Leninism learn so well?" ”
As soon as the words were spoken, Zheng Dongguo regretted it, and was a little embarrassed.
Mao Zedong was stunned, and then laughed, and he told Zheng Dongguo that when he first began to study Marxism-Leninism, he felt that he had mastered his thoughts and was considered a revolutionary. But later, when he went to the coal mine, the workers did not buy his account, and he realized that his "student face" and "gentleman-like" could not do the workers' work.
The young Mao Zedong was anxious to turn around on the railway every day, and only later realized that his ideological position had not changed at all.
Figure | Zheng Dongguo in his later years was in the same hall for four generations
Mao Zedong said to Zheng Dongguo in a serious tone:
"I was not born a 'saint', but gradually moved towards the revolutionary road in the process of learning from society and the people. A person's mind always has to develop, and the position can also be changed. It is easy to learn Marxism-Leninism only by worshipping the people as a teacher. ”
Mao Zedong talked a lot with Zheng Dongguo that day, especially his views on Marxism-Leninism, which affected the second half of Zheng Dongguo's life.
When Zheng Dongguo talked about this incident with his children and grandchildren in his later years, he always felt a lot of emotions: "I was a person who used to be very stubborn, but I obeyed the truth. Now I realize that china will have hope only if socialist construction is carried out under the leadership of the Communist Party. I will never waver in this belief any longer. ”
On January 27, 1991, Zheng Dongguo completed 88 years of ups and downs in his life. Before his death, he had no complaints or regrets about family and state affairs, and the only last words he left behind were regret that he did not see the reunification of the motherland.