For the safety of the people in the city and for themselves, Zheng Dongguo had to make the last choice - lead the army to surrender. Although he failed on the battlefield, Zheng Dong was not very convinced in his homeland, which also caused him to feel depressed, as if he was sick.
After Chairman Mao learned about this, he not only invited Zheng Dongguo to visit his home, but also "treated" him with Zhou Enlai. So what's going on? How did Chairman Mao and Zhou Enlai "treat" Zheng Dongguo?
Baoding Battle, persisted until the last moment
1903, Zheng Dongguo was born in a peasant family in Shimen County, Hunan Province. He studied hard since childhood. After graduating from middle school, he was admitted to Hunan Business College. After experiencing the May Fourth Movement, Zheng Dongguo, like other patriotic young people, was filled with the desire to serve his motherland.
Zhengdongguo
But the old Chinese warlords were in chaos at that time and the people were in dire straits. Under the influence of Mr. Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary thought, Zheng Dongguo believed that only by overthrowing the great powers and eradicating the warlords could he complete the national revolution, so he had the idea of joining the army.
In early 1924, Zheng Dongguo learned that the Guangdong Revolutionary Government was going to establish Whampoa Military Academy , so he resolutely joined the army and successfully entered the first phase of the Whampoa Military Academy. As the product of the revolution in the 1920s and the crystallization of the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, the Whampoa Military Academy has created the first truly anti-imperialist and anti-feudal revolutionary team in China since modern times. "Patriotism" and "revolution" also became the unshakable ideological purpose and spiritual pursuit of many Whampoa Military Academy students at that time.
In the Whampoa Military Academy, Zheng Dongguo listened to Mr. Sun Yat-sen's teachings; under the care of teachers such as Liao Zhongkai, Deng Yanda, and Zhou Enlai, he also had a deep friendship with Communist Party members such as Wang Erzhuo and He Shengyang, who later became generals of the Red Army.
In early 1925, during the battle of the first Eastern Expedition of on Tamsui, Zheng Dongguo, who had just left the school gate, served as the party representative of the 1st Party Army Teaching Regiment Company, and then signed up to participate in the brave team composed of 20 officers and 100 soldiers.
Zheng Dongguo and other members of the Fengwang team braved the enemy's heavy artillery fire to set up a ladder and strive to attack the city. When he saw his comrades around him fall one by one, Zheng Dong's heart suddenly felt panic in his heart, but he did not retreat, but realized that a revolutionary army officer must never be a greedy person who fears death. So, Zheng Dongguo climbed the ladder despite his own danger and took the lead in climbing the city tower.
After the Northern Expedition War began, Zheng Dongguo participated in the Northern Expedition Eastern Route Army operations. Because he rushed and dared to fight, he had seized a lot of enemy weapons and ammunition with a battalion, so he was promoted to the commander of the 8th Regiment of the 3rd Division of the First Army of the National Revolutionary Army. This year, Zheng Dongguo was only 24 years old.
In early 1933, after the "
18th Incident " occupied the three northeastern provinces of , it seized Rehe , and then attacked the various ports of Great Wall . When the country is in trouble and the nation is in danger, the people of the whole country strongly demand that the civil war be stopped and the whole country resist Japan. Under this circumstance, Chiang Kai-shek was forced to order the civil war to stop, and the 17th Army of the Central Army where Zheng Dongguo was located was drawn to Gubeikou to fight against Japan.Zheng Dongguo led the 4th Brigade of the 2nd Division of the 17th Army to defend the front line of the Nantianmen for nearly two months, and fought to the death with his flesh and blood, troops and firepower above them. During the battle, Zheng Dongguo was ordered to lead his troops to retreat and recuperate, but during the march, he suddenly received news that the position of the 83rd Division, which was being defended, was broken through by the Japanese army, and the situation was extremely serious.
Zheng Dongguo didn't have time to think too much, so he immediately led his troops back to the front line and launched an attack on the Japanese army. At this time, most of our positions had been lost, and in addition to this, a large number of Japanese troops were pouring towards us. Zheng Dongguo failed many counterattacks due to his weak troops and weak weapons.
At this critical moment, in order to boost the morale of the army and to express his determination to "kill the enemy even if he dies", Zheng Dongguo took off his military uniform, wore only a white shirt, and rushed towards the enemy group with a pistol first with a pistol. Seeing this, the morale of the other soldiers increased greatly, and they rushed towards the enemy one after another, forcing them to repel the enemy.
1937, with the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Zheng Dongguo, who was trained in Lushan Officer Training Corps, rushed back to his troops and led the 2nd Division of the 52nd Army to participate in the Battle of Baoding in the northern section of Jinpu Road. At that time, the Japanese army sent three divisions to attack us, but all friendly forces could not resist it and retreated one after another.
At this moment, Zheng Dongguo led his troops to appear, and he defended Baoding City Wall. While losing contact with superiors and friendly forces and the rear organs were also surrounded by the Japanese army, Zheng Dongguo still led his troops to fight with the Japanese army for two days and two nights. Although the city wall was finally broken through by the Japanese army, Zheng Dongguo did not escape, but instead commanded the division's direct troops and the Japanese army to fight from street to street.
Fortunately, Pei Changhui led the 47th Division to come to pick him up, and Zheng Dongguo was able to lead his troops out of the siege...
Zheng Dongguo was unwilling to "scene" an old friend obtained a high-ranking official
In early 1938, because the commander-in-chief of the Third Army, Han Fuju
feared the Japanese army, the Japanese army occupied most of Shandong Province within more than 20 days, posing a very big threat to Xuzhou . The Fifth War Zone ordered Tang Enbo’s 20th Legion to go north of the Shandong Canal and jointly annihilate the Japanese army with friendly forces.Zheng Dongguo, who was the commander of the 2nd Division of the 52nd Army of the 20th Army at that time, received the order and hurriedly led his troops from Henan to Xuzhou day and night. But it is a pity that because Teng County was occupied by the Japanese army, the vanguard of Zheng Dongguo happened to go south from Teng County to Zaozhuang
, preparing to take Xuzhou directly.Zheng Dongguo considered that our army had no time to implement the combat plan to face the enemy on the Lincheng line north of the canal, so he asked his superiors to change the combat deployment, and decisively commanded the soldiers to take the train to the south bank of the canal to occupy the position, and to protect the concentration of friendly troops to ensure Xuzhou.
At this time, a large number of Japanese troops had arrived on the north bank of the canal, attempting to cross the Henan province to invade, and fought fiercely with the vanguard of the 2nd Division led by Zheng Dongguo.
Zheng Dongguo led the main force of the 2nd Division to arrive at the south bank of the canal in critical moments and fight across the river with the enemy. But the Japanese army was attacking with their powerful firepower. Fortunately, the heavy howitzer battalion of the Zhengdong National Division headquarters arrived in time and successfully suppressed the enemy. Only then did the enemy be beaten to the point of crossing the river, but instead launched an attack on Taierzhuang .
After that, Zheng Dongguo attacked the Japanese troops in Zaozhuang and other places in the area north of the canal, supporting the Taierzhuang defenders to defend their defense operations. During the battle to attack Yicheng, Zheng Dongguo was accidentally hit by Japanese artillery shells. Fortunately, there is a silver dollar in his left pocket of his shirt. This silver dollar blocked the shell skin and the person was not injured.
In early April, the 20th Army and other units of Zheng Dongguo and Sun Lianzhong's troops surrounded the Japanese army and defeated the arrogant 5th Division and the 10th Division of the in Yanglou and Dige areas, successfully killing and wounding more than 20,000 Japanese troops, and achieving the famous Taierzhuang victory. After the victory of the Taierzhuang Battle, the 52nd Army was ordered to pursue the Japanese army fled to Yicheng. The Japanese army relied on the dangerous commanding heights outside the city of Yicheng, and the Japanese army resisted stubbornly, which caused our army's attack to be hit several times. Zheng Dongguo also decided to change the fierce attack to a smart attack.
That night, Zheng Dongguo personally selected hundreds of elite soldiers and took advantage of the night to sneak up the mountain. Afterwards, the soldiers threw the grenade into the Japanese bunkers and fortifications. Zheng Dongguo took the opportunity to order the second echelon to rush up the mountain. After a night of fierce battle, he captured the Jiushan Highland in one fell swoop.
However, what everyone did not expect was that the "accidental" promotion after the end of the Xuzhou battle in put Zheng Dongguo in a dilemma.
At that time, the Second Division was assigned to the 52nd Army. Soon after, the army commander Guan Linzheng was promoted to the commander of the 32nd Army, and nominated his fellow townsman and old subordinate Zhang Yaoming as the commander of the army, promoted Zheng Dongguo to the deputy commander, and no longer served as the commander of the 2nd Division.
Zheng Dongguo didn't care about the level of his position. He cared about whether he could lead troops to fight. Obviously, this promotion made him lose the power to lead troops to fight. There have always been factional disputes within the Kuomintang, and it is not surprising that officials and generals take care of their fellow villagers and subordinates. But at the critical moment of the War of Resistance Against Japan, he was able to withdraw his Zheng Dongguo, who had been struggling on the front line for more than ten years, which made him unable to accept it.
Leaving the 2nd Division, which had been in the past many years, Zheng Dongguo was in a miserable state. Fortunately, not long after, the commander-in-chief of the 31st Army, Tang Enbo, transferred him to serve as the chief senator of the General Command to participate in the Wuhan Battle . Zheng Dongguo was very happy when he learned the news. He immediately accepted Tang Enbo's order and rushed to the front line of the 37th Army to supervise the battle.
Here, Zheng Dongguo met Huang Guoliang, the old commander of the Northern Expedition, during the period of the Northern Expedition, and the commander of the 37th Army. After ten years of separation, the two met again, and their excitement was beyond words. From then on, they commanded the battle together during the day and talked about the past at night.
Who would have thought that this kind of life would not last long before it was broken by a phone call from Tang Enbo. Tang Enbo accused Huang Guoliang of incompetent command and poor performance on the phone, and asked Zheng Dongguo to replace Huang Guoliang as the commander of the 37th Army. At this time, Zheng Dongguo realized that Tang Enbo was not simply asking himself to supervise the battle, but to take over Huang Guoliang's position.
Tang Enbo
Zheng Dongguo was very grateful to Tang Enbo for his kindness, but he was unwilling to "sneak" in his old friend and old commander in this way, so he found an excuse to return to the Group Army Command. Huang Guoliang did not know the real reason for Zheng Dongguo's departure. He was reluctant to part with Zheng Dongguo's sudden farewell and repeatedly tried to keep him. But Zheng Dongguo was worried that the night was long and there were many dreams, so he didn't dare to stay for a moment.
Later, the aides beside Tang Enbo teased Zheng Dongguo: "You guy is not in charge of the position of commander, but he runs back to be a bare-senator. This is too pedantic!" Zheng Dongguo just smiled and didn't say anything.
attended the signing ceremony of the Japanese surrender
At the end of 1939, in order to force the National Government to surrender, the Japanese army actually sent Fifth Division, known as the "Steel Army", and other troops to invade southern Guizhou, and then captured Nanning and the strategic pass of the northeast of Nanning - Kunlun Pass .
The Fifth Army of the Kuomintang was ordered to launch a counterattack and launched a very fierce bloody battle with the 12th Japanese Brigade guarding at Kunlun Pass. At that time, the honorary First Division was not afraid of sacrifice under the command of the division commander Zheng Dongguo, and bravely moved forward, rushed into Kunlun Pass twice, killing the enemy brigade commander Nakamura Masao , making great contributions to the final annihilation of the enemy troops in the unit.
At that time, the whole country was paying attention to Kunlun Pass Battle . After Zheng Dongguo commanded the soldiers to capture the Luotang Highland, an important commanding height northwest of Kunlun Pass, Chiang Kai-shek, who was in Chongqing, personally sent a congratulatory message. In the late period of the Kunlun Pass Battle, Japanese reinforcements broke through the defense line of friendly forces and reoccupied the 441 highland, the important commanding heights southwest of Kunlun Pass.
Sun Liren and Zhengdongguo
Honorary First Division learned of this situation and fought with the Japanese army for the 441 Highlands many times, and the positions changed hands many times. Later, the brutal Japanese army rushed to jump over the wall and released a large amount of poison gas, causing great casualties to the Chinese army and its position was in danger.
At this moment, a subordinate of Zheng Dongguo could no longer hold on and he repeatedly asked to withdraw from the battle. Zheng Dongguo, in contrast to his usual gentle and gentle attitude, said seriously: "Even if you only have one soldier and one soldier, you must hold it back! If you lose your position, I will shoot you!"
There is no one around Zheng Dongguo, so he had to gather the spy company and some minor wounded people to attack. Under the cover of night, this strong commando team of less than 200 people suddenly launched an attack on their back while the Japanese army was not being allowed to be attacked. After a fierce battle, the Japanese army was defeated in one fell swoop and ensured the victory of the entire battle.
Kunlun Pass Battle, the Chinese army wiped out the 12th brigade of the Japanese army, killed nearly 5,000 people below the enemy brigade commander Masao Nakamura, and seized a large amount of spoils, which not only inspired the people's hearts, but also greatly encouraged the courage of the people across the country to fight against the war. After the battle, people from all walks of life from behind organized condolence groups to comfort the soldiers in front.
In early 1943, Zheng Dongguo was ordered to serve as the commander of the New First Army of the Chinese Army in India and the deputy commander-in-chief of the Chinese Army in India. At this time, the chief of staff of the Chinese Theater Stilwell was having a quarrel with Chiang Kai-shek, the commander-in-chief of the Chinese Theater, on issues related to the control of the Chinese army, especially the Chinese army in India.
In Stilwell's view, the arrival of Zheng Dongguo was completely redundant, so he took measures to make things difficult and prevent them from happening against Zheng Dongguo and other Chinese generals. In a very difficult and complex environment, Zheng Dongguo not only had to safeguard the interests and dignity of the motherland, but also had to start from the overall situation of the War of Resistance and try to avoid the breakdown of relations with Stilwell and others.
Everyone knows that Zheng Dongguo has a very good temper, but he can't stand Stilwell, and even returned to Chongqing twice to ask Chiang Kai-shek for transfer back to China, but unfortunately, he did not get permission.
It was not until October 1943 that the counterattack of northern Myanmar began, due to the outstanding achievements of the Chinese soldiers, the prejudice of Stilwell and others towards Chinese generals was gradually eliminated, and they established a fighting friendship of mutual trust.
In the battle to attack Myitkyina, a major city in northern Myanmar, the command error of the US military generals on the front line caused significant losses to the Sino-US joint forces, and the war was in a stalemate for a long time. Stilwell replaced three US commanders in a row on the front line, and finally decided to let Chinese generals such as Zheng Dongguo command the battle. After fierce battles, the Japanese army was wiped out and the battle was won.
On August 15, 1945, Japan announced its unconditional surrender. After experiencing extremely arduous struggles, our people finally won the victory of this war. Zheng Dongguo, who was the deputy commander-in-chief of the Third Front Army at that time, attended the signing ceremony of the surrender of the Japanese invaders held at 9 a.m. on September 9.
When Zheng Dongguo saw the Japanese troops such as Okamura Yasuji and finally lowered his head in front of the Chinese people, he was filled with emotion and could not calm down for a long time. Zheng Dongguo thanked that he had witnessed this unforgettable great moment with his own eyes and was proud to have fulfilled the responsibilities of a Chinese soldier in this war of resistance that determined the survival of the Chinese nation.
Zheng Dongguo was invited but was late. Chairman Mao: Your name is very loud. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Chiang Kai-shek opened a civil war in order to seize the fruits of victory alone, despite the opposition of the people of the whole country. However, with the continuous development of the war, the Kuomintang retreated one after another, and the situation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party was completely reversed.
1948's Northeast battlefield is no longer the world of the Kuomintang. On March 25, Zheng Dongguo was ordered to come to Changchun, a major northeastern town surrounded by the People's Liberation Army. At that time, at the Standing Committee of the Politburo of Xibaipo , several members of the Standing Committee said: "We'd better mobilize Zheng Dongguo to rebel, so that the people in the city don't have to suffer."
Zhou Enlai also said: "I know Zheng Dongguo quite well, he is honest and honest." Chairman Mao nodded and said: "Then let's find a way to fight for him to rebel!" Then Zhou Enlai wrote a letter to Zheng Dongguo in the name of his teacher.
But unfortunately, there was already chaos in Changchun City at that time, and Zheng Dongguo did not see the letter written by Zhou Enlai. However, even if Zheng Dongguo saw it, he would not surrender. After all, he was loyal to Chiang Kai-shek at that time. As time passed, the war could not continue, so Zheng Dongguo's subordinates contacted the People's Liberation Army without telling him, and Zheng Dongguo had to lead his troops to surrender.
When Zheng Dongguo put down his weapons and followed the troops out of the city in frustration, a jeep drove towards him, with Xiao Jinguang and Xiao Hua sitting on it. When Xiao Hua saw Zheng Dongguo, he quickly asked the driver to stop, then got out of the car and shook hands with Zheng Dongguo to say hello.Xiao Hua's actions surprised Zheng Dongguo because this senior general of the People's Liberation Army did not be arrogant and arrogant towards him, the defeated general, which also made Zheng Dong feel a little better in China.
That night, Xiao Jinguang and Xiao Hua invited Zheng Dongguo to dinner, and the two of them were also polite during this period. But Zheng Dongguo was in a bad mood because of his surrender. He only knew how to drink and refused to speak. Zheng Dongguo also made a request to Xiao Jinguang and Xiao Hua: "I surrender, don't broadcast, don't publish in the newspaper, and I will not attend public banquets again..."
Then, Zheng Dongguo left Changchun and went to Harbin to think about his life. Zheng Dongguo, a group of Kuomintang members from the Whampoa Military Academy, devoted themselves to the revolution because of patriotism and hoped that the country would be revived, and his pain also came from here. Zheng Dongguo felt that the Kuomintang had been doing it all over the place, not only did it not save the country, but it was a dead end, which he couldn't figure out.
In the process of ideological transformation, there is another hurdle that Zheng Dongguo cannot overcome, that is his idea of "loyalty, filial piety, integrity and righteousness".
In August 1950, Zheng Dongguo needed to go to Shanghai for treatment due to physical discomfort. When he was passing through Beijing, Xiao Jinguang and Xiao Hua invited him to a meal, hoping that he could participate in the work of liberating Taiwan. Zheng Dongguo thought about it again and again but refused. He wanted to see the unification of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, but he was unwilling to use weapons to fight with his former superiors and comrades.
When Zhou Enlai knew that Zheng Dongguo was passing by Beijing, he specially invited Li Qizhong, who was doing united front work, to accompany him and invite him to his home. This is something Zheng Dongguo never dreamed of. He and Zhou Enlai had both a teacher-student relationship with the Whampoa Military Academy and a superior and subordinate relationship during the Eastern Expedition . Therefore, in the face of Zhou Enlai's invitation, Zheng Dongguo happily agreed.
When Zheng Dongguo saw Zhou Enlai, he said guiltily: "Prime Minister Zhou, I have let you down for decades. On the eve of the liberation of Changchun, you also wrote a letter to me personally. Although you did not receive this letter, it is enough to show your broad mind. I really disappoint your expectations..."
Zhou Enlai saw that Zheng Dongguo was still restless, so he changed the topic and asked about his health and family situation. Zhou Enlai also asked him, "I don't know what your plans are next?" Zheng Dongguo said, "Students have nothing to do and are old. I plan to go back to their hometown to farm."
Li Qizhong, who was accompanying him, said, "Okay, how dare you say you are old in front of the teacher?" Li Qizhong's words made everyone laugh. Zhou Enlai said:
"Dongguo, you are less than 50 years old now, and you still have a lot of time and energy to contribute to the country and the people. Now that the new China has just been established, everything is in trouble, and there are still many things that we need to do. You must maintain your health, and I welcome you back to work at any time."
Zhou Enlai's words are like the rain of a long drought, which made Zheng Dongguo cry and very moved.
One day in April 1954, Zheng Dongguo suddenly received a golden invitation. He opened it and found that Chairman Mao was going to invite himself to Zhongnanhai as a guest. Zheng Dongguo was so excited that he didn't fall asleep all night, which also caused him to be several minutes late the next day.
As soon as Zheng Dongguo arrived, Chairman Mao joked: "So your name is Zheng Dongguo. This name is good, it's very loud!" Zheng Dongguo was a little restrained and didn't know what to say. Chairman Mao saw his discomfort and asked him, "Do you smoke?"
Zheng Dongguo nodded and said, "Smooth." Then he took a cigarette from the coffee table. He was about to light it, but Unexpectedly, Chairman Mao took out a box of matches from his pocket very quickly, got up and lit a cigarette for him. Chairman Mao’s kind and easy-going demeanor made Zheng Dongguo, who was originally very nervous and restrained, feel much more relaxed.
During the meal, Chairman Mao asked Zheng Dongguo about his family's life, and he answered truthfully.After hearing this, Chairman Mao said cordially: "Your family life has been arranged. Should you come out to do some work for the people next? You are only 51 years old this year and are still very young!"
Zheng Dongguo was shocked when he heard Chairman Mao's words. He did not expect that the Chairman, who was busy with trouble, would remember his age and was filled with emotion for a moment. Next, Chairman Mao and Zheng Dongguo became more and more casual in their conversations, and his heart disease was completely "cured" by Chairman Mao and Zhou Enlai.
The earnest teachings of Chairman Mao and Zhou Enlai have made Zheng Dongguo firmly believe in, study hard, and work hard to transform the world outlook, and embark on the road of patriotism.
