In North Korea in 1950, when Peng Dehuai was carefully correcting a report, a guard came in: "Mr. Peng, a chief from China is coming to see you!"
At that time, Gao Gang was the first secretary of the Northeast Bureau. As the person closest to North Korea, Peng Dehuai secretly thought that maybe Gao Gang had come to express his condolences.
At this time, a thin figure flashed through the door, shouting: "Mr. Peng, it's me!"
Seeing Peng Dehuai's surprised look, Chen Geng immediately became "unhappy": "Why, Mr. Peng is not big." Welcome me?"
Peng Dehuai: "You're right, I don't welcome you... You just came back from the war in Vietnam , and you don't think the war was enough, so why did you come to North Korea again?"
在 Not long after the founding of New China , Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh sent two special envoys to ask for help, hoping that China could provide supplies to help them defeat the invading French army.
General Chen Geng, who had great military exploits, trekked long distances on the muddy trails in Vietnam with his two sick legs without taking a rest for almost a day. After
helped Vietnam win the first phase of the battle, Chen Geng immediately pulled his eyes away from the beautiful tropical scenery and turned to the ice and snow in the northeast of North Korea. Before he could return from Vietnam, he volunteered to join the Korean battlefield.
Also submitted the application at the same time as Chen Geng was his brother-in-law, Chen Xilian, known as the "little steel cannon" (he married the biological sister of Chen Geng's first wife, Wang Genying).
Chen Geng advised Chen Xilian to give up from a work perspective: "You are the commander of the artillery. You have to hand over the work when you leave. But I have just returned from Vietnam and the domestic work has not been taken over yet. There is no problem of handover, so it is more appropriate for me to go."
Chen Xilian was worried about Chen Geng's health: "But you just came back from the Vietnam War and it was hard enough. Besides, your health is not very good, so let me go. You need to rest for a while."
Chen Geng laughed. : "For me, the best rest is to go to the battlefield and command operations."
Later, when Mao Zedong and Kim Il Sung talked, he said: "Chen Geng returned to Beijing from Vietnam and he asked to go to North Korea. I said, you Chen Geng Just be warlike. As soon as you heard about fighting the American emperor, you became energetic and your illness was half cured. "
Mao Zedong Kim Il Sung
At the end of 1950, Chen Geng rushed to the Korean front to inspect the combat situation on the spot.
He participated in the third battle summary meeting, went to the front line to visit several troops, and stayed in Song Shilun's Ninth Corps for a few days, and then returned to the Northeast by train.
On April 25, 1951, Chen Geng was appointed commander of the Third Corps. Just two days before he was about to leave, his left calf became severely swollen and painful, and he suffered from traumatic arthritis. According to the doctor's analysis, the trigger was due to the difficult conditions during the aid period in Vietnam and the non-stop travel to North Korea after returning to China. He must be cured before he can move.
It was not until August 17 that Chen Geng dragged his sick body into North Korea for the second time. Unexpectedly, he acted as Peng Dehuai's "fire extinguisher" as soon as he arrived in North Korea.
Because Chen Geng delayed his trip, the Third Corps was actually commanded by deputy commander Wang Jinshan. As a result, the subordinate 180th Division was not well organized when it retreated north, resulting in 3,000 people being disarmed.
Wang Jinshan
In fact, the battle was defeated. The main reason was that the leadership of the 180th Division was incompetent. However, General Peng was angry with the 60th Army and the Third Corps. He believed that they did not send effective troops to respond and search for them in time, and they should bear the unshirkable responsibility.
To this end, Peng Dehuai convened a meeting at the headquarters location, with leaders and commanders of each corps participating.
When the leaders of the Third Corps arrived, Peng Dehuai personally walked out of the command post to "greet" him. As a result, only Liu Youguang, director of the Political Department, came to the meeting, and Wang Jinshan was not seen at all.
Wang Jinshan was a famous general who was jokingly called "Crazy King" by Mao Zedong. Every time he fought, he would always receive good news. This defeat of the 180th Division was the only defeat in his life. In addition, Worried about Mr. Peng's storm, he simply acted like a turtle.
To everyone's surprise, Peng Dehuai said to Liu Youguang kindly: "The meeting is to study experience and lessons. I am also responsible for the losses suffered by the 180th Division. Our main purpose is not to trace the responsibility, but more importantly to find lessons... ."
After hearing what he said, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
The meeting started in a relaxed atmosphere. When the 180th Division was mentioned, Peng Dehuai's face darkened and he directly called Wei Jie, commander of the 60th Army, to stand up.
Wei Jie
"Your 180th Division can break through..."
"Wei Jie, how did you become the army commander? When you ordered the troops to retreat, you just followed the telegram. Why didn't you make arrangements? ?"
Wei Jie was already filled with guilt. Amidst Peng Dehuai's criticism, he could only choose to remain silent. As a result, Peng Dehuai became even more furious when he saw Wei Jie not talking to him, and the whole audience heard only his roar.
At this time, Deng Hua and Hong Xuezhi, deputy commanders of the Volunteer Army , were anxious, fearing that Wei Jie would not be able to handle it. Deng Hua turned around and saw Chen Geng sitting at the door. He quickly pushed him: "Commander Chen, please tell me."
Chen Geng understood, stood up and planned what Peng Dehuai said: "Boss, it's time to eat, my stomach is rumbling I screamed..."
Peng Dehuai's words of criticism stuck in his throat. He looked down at his watch and paused for a long time: "Eat."
Only Chen Geng dared to do so on such occasions. Do this. First, because he has seniority and joined the party earlier than Peng Dehuai. Second, because he and Peng Dehuai have a deep friendship. In addition to the friendship between the two of them from the same hometown, Chen Geng is also the "matchmaker" of Peng Dehuai and Pu Anxiu. You can't refute Chen Geng's face.
In the Yan'an period in 1938, Peng Dehuai, a 40-year-old bachelor, became a constant problem in the eyes of everyone.
After being hit by two failed marriages, Peng Dehuai made up his mind not to fall in love again in this life. But there was no woman around to help him, and it was really heart-wrenching to be alone. For this reason, many people tried to match him, but they were all rejected.
At a critical moment, Chen Geng personally took action and invited Peng Dehuai to watch a women's volleyball match, giving him a chance to interact with women.
Peng Dehuai was busy with military affairs and was not interested in these entertainment programs at all. Chen Geng forced him to go: "If you, Mr. Peng, don't pay attention to the entertainment life of the people, people will say you are arrogant!"
During the competition, Chen Geng Peng Dehuai's every move was carefully observed throughout the process. Soon he noticed that Peng Dehuai's wide eyes looked at a taller female player from time to time. That girl is not only a good player, but also has an outstanding appearance. She has a fair face, a slim figure, and is full of healthy vitality.
There is a way. He asked Peng Dehuai while the iron was hot: "Chief, how are you?"
"It's wonderful."
"Which player do you think is better?"
"The tall one with glasses is good."
After the game , Chen Geng specially arranged for Peng Dehuai to shake hands with the players one by one. When it was Pu Anxiu's turn, Peng Dehuai praised for the first time: "You played well."
Soon, under Chen Geng's careful arrangement, Peng Dehuai and Beijing Normal University Ura Anxiu, a top student of , slowly started dating until he got married.
Pu'an Xiu Peng Dehuai
After calming down Peng Dehuai's anger, Chen Geng had to appease Wang Jinshan.
Wang Jinshan was locking himself in the room to write a self-reflection, and Chen Geng quietly came over: "On a hot day, who are you writing a love letter to after closing the door?"
Wang Jinshan placed the pen heavily on the paper, sighing, and Chen Geng patted him. Shoulder: "You 'Crazy King', you used to be a tiger in the war, why have you turned into a rat now? Even Mr. Peng doesn't dare to see you?"
"It's not that I don't dare, it's really too shameless to see him."
Chen Geng Gang After Wang Jinshan carefully analyzed the reasons for the defeat on the battlefield, he gave him another idea: "If you are afraid of meeting Mr. Peng, you can go to Beijing directly to Chairman Mao to apologize, and at the same time hand over the review to Peng."
Wang Jinshan thought about Chen Geng Then he suddenly became happy: "The old leader still has many methods."
Life on the battlefield is difficult, but the arrival of Chen Geng, the "pistachio" general, injected a lot of joy into the serious air.
In the winter of 1951, the North Korean Song and Dance Troupe had a battlefield dance. Chen Geng, Hong Xuezhi and others were invited to attend .
The atmosphere at the scene was very lively. Everyone went to dance. Only Chen Geng sat motionless with a smile.
A beautiful North Korean girl saw Chen Geng sitting on the bench and immediately came over to invite him to dance. Park Yiyu from North Korea. The deputy commander hurriedly stopped her.
Chen Geng's legs had been seriously injured in his early years. Without the superb medical skills of Doctor Niu Huilin (Song Qingling's cousin), he would have been unable to heal. But from then on, he He also became an insulator for the dance.
Fearing nothing, when Chen Geng returned to China for the first time, he was stopped by Gao Gang in Shenyang and organized a grand dance in the name of "Welcome Commander Chen Geng".
Just in time for people. While intoxicated by the soft and delicate lights and dance music , a sudden cry came out: "Help!"
It turned out that as soon as Chen Geng entered the dance floor, he was entangled by the girl Gao Gang had already arranged. No matter what Chen Geng did. He explained that his legs made it difficult for him to walk, let alone dance, but the girl refused to let him go and insisted on dancing a few steps with him.
In desperation, Chen Geng shouted loudly, shocking everyone, and he took advantage of it. Luan Yiyan ran away.
This time the North Korean girl was quieter and did not force Chen Geng to enter the dance floor. As a result, the deputy commander Hong Xuezhi next to him made a joke about Chen Geng: "Commander Chen is the famous Chen Geng, and he can't do it even if he wants to dance. "
Hong Xuezhi
Chen Geng replied with a smile: "You Hong Mazi, don't be too proud. I heard that there was a battle because you ran fast, so the enemy's shells did not hit you, otherwise you would be worse off than me. "
The two deputy commanders, Chen Geng and Hong Xuezhi, loved to joke when they met.
Once, Hong Xuezhi met Chen Geng who had just come out of the cave. He looked Chen Geng up and down and said, "Commander Chen, can you please show some hygiene!" Otherwise, it will not only affect the environment, but also be easily discovered by enemy aircraft. "
It turned out that Chen Geng's military uniform had not been changed for a long time, and the cuffs, collar and other places were stained. The guards wanted to wash it several times, but Chen Geng refused. As a result, Hong Xuezhi caught him this time.
Chen Geng He said with emotion: "I have been in court for more than half a year, and I haven't even changed my shirt, let alone my clothes. It would be nice if I could take a shower if possible." "
Although Chen Geng doesn't pay much attention to personal hygiene, he is extremely concerned about the lives of frontline soldiers.
Once, he saw a program called "Battlefield Break" and saw the soldiers in the show with their faces blackened by smoke. Dissatisfied: "Our soldiers are very civilized and hygienic! American soldiers catch lice in front of the position. Our soldiers make their own bath buckets and take a bath once a day. They also plant flowers and plants on the position. This is true optimism. . "
When watching " The West Chamber", when the matchmaker came on stage to sing, one of her movements was to point her finger at the audience. When Chen Geng saw this, he immediately touched Han Xianchu with his shoulder: "The matchmaker is pointing at you, what a picture Sheng , instead of performing on stage, you are watching the show off the stage. Come to the stage and perform your Zhang Sheng. Don't ask the matchmaker to look for you everywhere. "
Han Xianchu responded seriously: "I am not good enough for Zhang Sheng, but Commander Chen is qualified. Don't look at your unshaven beard. The letter the matchmaker took was written to you by Cui Yingying. "
Han Xianchu
Chen Geng particularly likes young people. As long as he sees young warriors around 20 years old, he will hold their immature faces with both hands and shout affectionately: "My son." "
" You guys are so lovable, all of you have beautiful baby faces. "
Next, he will lead these "sons" to the girls, and he can match a couple. This "humorous general" is particularly keen on being a matchmaker.
After October 1951, Chen Geng died due to illness He returned to China for treatment, and in March 1952, he entered North Korea for the third time. This time he came back to replace Peng Dehuai.
Life on the Korean battlefield was particularly difficult. For safety reasons, the general headquarters moved to the Hicang gold mine west of Pyongyang . This gold mine is very deep, with water seeping everywhere, and it is a maze of twists and turns. If you don't go in with a flashlight, you will get lost immediately.
Moreover, there was quite a lack of oxygen in the cave. Peng Dehuai stayed in the cave all day studying the war and often felt dizzy. He originally suffered from chronic enteritis and hemorrhoids. As a result, he developed a tumor on his head and his body became thinner and thinner.
Zhou Enlai sent several telegrams urging Peng Dehuai to return to China for treatment, but Peng Dehuai always refused to obey. It was not until Chen Geng entered the DPRK with the telegram that Peng Dehuai left with peace of mind. Before leaving, he also earnestly warned everyone that after he left, Chen Geng would take care of all the work.
In fact, Chen Geng has been in poor health, suffering from insomnia, headaches, chest tightness, and difficulty breathing. But he still continued to work despite his illness and helped Peng Dehuai formulate combat arrangements.
At that time, the situation of Korean War had changed from large-scale mobile warfare to positional warfare between the two armies. The US military relied on its equipment advantages to pour a large number of weapons on our army's positions every day. In order to resist, our military commanders began to dig holes at the front of the position to resist.
It was originally a single small hole, and then adjacent holes were connected internally to form a small horseshoe-shaped tunnel. When the opponent's artillery fire came, soldiers could hide in the tunnel. When it comes to close combat, he can quickly get up from the tunnel to fight the enemy.
Chen Geng, based on his own experience fighting in Vietnam and inspired by frontline commanders and fighters, proposed to carry out tunnel operations. Taking advantage of the U.S. military's laxity, Chen Geng quickly built fortifications to consolidate the position, and dug the simple " Maoer Cave " into a huge underground tunnel.
From then on, the volunteers fought with the enemy during the day and took all the time to dig tunnels at night. The sound of shovels was heard from the entire position.
Our army officers and soldiers are very wise and divide the tunnels into living areas, garrison areas, storage rooms, etc. Each area remains relatively independent and connected together. Even if the surface field fortifications are occupied, they can still stick to the tunnels and cooperate with the reserve team to carry out counterattacks. impact.
On October 14, 1952, the US military mobilized 60,000 troops, concentrated 300 cannons, 1,000 tanks, and a large number of aircraft to launch a frantic attack on Shangganling.
Under this bombing, all the surface fortifications of our army were destroyed, and the volunteers turned to underground operations. The war lasted for 43 days. The US military suffered nearly 30,000 casualties. The main peak of Shangganling was cut off by as much as 2 meters. In the end, they only occupied the forward positions of two squadrons of volunteers.
only occupied the enemy's impenetrable tunnel fortifications, but there was nothing we could do. The victory of the Battle of Shangganling shows the great role of tunnel fortifications in the Korean battlefield. This underground steel Great Wall, built under the direct command of Chen Sai, withstood an unprecedented concentration of firepower in the history of world wars and is still a favorite story today.
The US military commander was extremely angry. This was not a war at all, but an underground Great Wall being built.
By the end of the war, the trenches dug by the volunteers were longer than the Great Wall , which can be called a miracle in the history of combat.
In June 1952, Chen Geng was recalled to the country again. This time, there was a more difficult task waiting for him.
