1927, Zhang Zongxun led his troops to participate in the Autumn Harvest Uprising led by Chairman Mao. After adapting in Sanwan, he directly escorted Chairman Mao to Jinggangshan and participated in the struggle to create and defend Jinggangshan revolutionary base .
In the ten years of the Agrarian Revolution, the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Three Years of Liberation War and the practice of military construction after the founding of New China, Zhang Zongxun followed Chairman Mao to fight south and north, and his military career has always been closely linked to Chairman Mao.
In 1971, Chairman Mao had not seen Zhang Zongxun for a long time, and when he was listening to the report, he asked Huang Yongsheng beside him: "Where has Zhang Zongxun gone?"
So what kind of relationship does Chairman Mao and Zhang Zongxun have? Where has Zhang Zongxun gone in recent years?
Chairman Mao’s first guardian
Zhang Zongxun was born in 1908 in a wealthy peasant family in Chishui Town, Weinan, Shaanxi Province. When he was studying at Chishui Vocational School in 1922, he gradually came into contact with Marxism and actively participated in various activities organized by Wang Shangde .
In May 1924, Zhang Zongxun joined the China Socialist Youth League and assisted the group to gradually hold mass groups such as the "Civilian Education Service Group", and held more than a dozen civilian night schools near of Chishui Town to allow farmers to study.
1925, during the summer of , the Kuomintang and the Communist Party cooperated with . Zhang Zongxun also joined the Kuomintang under this background and went to Guangdong to apply for , Whampoa Military Academy, . In February of the following year, he was admitted to the Whampoa Military Academy as he wished and was assigned to the 5th Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 5th Regiment of the 2nd Regiment of the 5th Division of the Army. During this period, he was officially transformed into a Communist Party member.
htmlOn March 20, Chiang Kai-shek planned the " Zhongshan Ship Incident " in Guangzhou. In addition, Chiang Kai-shek also required that Huangpu students with dual party members only choose one, either withdraw from the Kuomintang and join the Communist Party; or withdraw from the Communist Party and join the Kuomintang. Under this premise, Zhang Zongxun resolutely decided to withdraw from the Kuomintang and disclosed his identity as a Communist Party member.On July 9, 1926, after the Northern Expedition began, Zhang Zongxun followed some students to Dongjiang to carry out the task of consolidating the revolutionary base. In September, Zhang Zongxun returned to Whampoa Military Academy and was later promoted to the undergraduate department and was officially assigned to study in the second team of the fourth political department.
In April 1927, after graduating from Whampoa Military Academy, Zhang Zongxun was assigned to the 9th Regiment of the 3rd Division of the 8th Army of the 4th Army of the National Revolutionary Army, serving as an officer of the Political Instructor Office and a political instructor of the 2nd Battalion. On July 15, Wang Jingwei betrayed the revolution, and soon Zhang Zongxun’s new recruit battalion was incorporated into the 3rd Battalion of the Guard Regiment of the Second Front Army General Command.
On September 9, Zhang Zongxun followed the guard regiment to participate in the Autumn Harvest Uprising of the Hunan-Jiangxi Border, and served as the staff officer of the 1st Regiment of the 1st Division of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. According to the uprising plan formulated at that time, the regiments launched an attack from east to west, with the goal of capturing Changsha.
But it is a pity that the troops of the enemy and us are too disparity, and the commanders of the rebel army lack practical experience. Therefore, the uprising did not go very smoothly, and the troops suffered heavy losses. The commander of the 1st Regiment, Lu Deming, was unfortunately sacrificed.
During the operation, Zhang Zongxun led the soldiers of the first company to act as vanguards when the First Regiment was organized into internal operations and attacked westward; and when retreating eastward, he served as defenders. In more than ten consecutive days of battle, Zhang Zongxun completed the task outstandingly and initially demonstrated his ability to command operations and manage troops, which also attracted the attention of Chairman Mao.
After the failure of the Autumn Harvest Uprising, Chairman Mao decisively decided to give up his plan to seize Changsha and move to the mountainous areas on the southeast Hunan-Jiangxi border. After more than ten days of war, the remaining troops of the rebel army finally got rid of the enemy's pursuit and came to Sanwan Village, Yongxin County, Jiangxi Province.
Under the leadership of Chairman Mao, the remaining troops of the uprising army rested in Sanwan Village for 5 days and adapted it. The rebel troops were reduced from the original three regiments to one regiment, with the 1st Battalion, the 3rd Battalion and the 1st and the 1st and the 1st Special Corps, with a total of 7 combat companies and about 1,000 people. Due to the reorganization of the troops, the original cadres were demoted, and Zhang Zongxun was also transferred to the spy company as deputy company commander.
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When Chairman Mao learned that Zhang Zongxun was from Weinan, Shaanxi, he smiled and said, "You are from Qinchuan, 800 miles away, and you are a fellow villager of Jiang Taigong! Jiang Taigong was fishing in Weishui !" Zhang Zongxun's personality was quite introverted, so he just smiled after hearing Chairman Mao's words.
On October 23, 1927, the troops were suddenly attacked by the reactionary landlord armed forces of Xiao Jiabi in Dafen Town. It was very dangerous at that time. The company commander and Luo Ronghuan hurriedly ordered Zhang Zongxun to bring a platoon of troops to escort Chairman Mao away.
After the end of the Autumn Harvest Uprising, after dozens of days of continuous march, Chairman Mao's instep had already been worn out by straw sandals. He walked around and was also hurt by stones when walking on the rugged mountain road. Seeing Chairman Mao's difficult walking, Zhang Zongxun and the soldiers proposed to carry him away, but Chairman Mao waved his hand and said, "Thank you for your kindness, I can leave myself."
However, Zhang Zongxun insisted on carrying him, but Chairman Mao refused to sit down, and the two sides were in a stalemate. In the end, Chairman Mao took the initiative to make concessions and said: "This way, find me a bamboo pole, and let's walk slowly with it. How about it?" Zhang Zongxun nodded in agreement.
Afterwards, Zhang Zongxun recalled: "We think that Commissioner Mao is a scholar. Unlike us military men, he is not good at marching, but he can persevere. This is really admirable."
In addition to taking on the responsibility of defending Chairman Mao, Zhang Zongxun also shouldered an important task, which is to collect intelligence. At that time, the troops did not have special reconnaissance agencies, nor did they have high-tech products such as telephones and radios. Therefore, the situation in the outside world was obtained by collecting enemy newspapers and inquiring about information.
On this day, the comrades who were sent out to inquire about the news brought back a few old newspapers, and they saw that the news "Zhu De and others led the Nanchang Uprising and the rest of their troops in Shantou, Guangdong" was published. Zhang Zongxun quickly gave the newspaper to Chairman Mao. After reading it, Chairman Mao was very happy and immediately decided to send someone to contact him, which led to the meeting of Zhu and Mao half a year later.
In April 1928, after Zhu De and Chairman Mao met in Jinggangshan in , Zhang Zongxun served as a company commander of the 4th Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. became "one of the few company commanders in the creation stage of our army", and even served as the captain of the Yongxin County Guerrilla Brigade.
From then on, Zhang Zongxun has been following Chairman Mao, turning to Gannan , West Fujian , constantly enriching himself in the battle and growing...
Zhang Zongxun and Peng Dehuai on the way to Long March
On October 17, 1934, Peng Dehuai was ordered to lead Red Third Army , using the Red 4th Division as the vanguard force to advance to the southwest border of Jiangxi, and began the world-famous ,000-mile Long March . At this time, the Red Third Army was responsible for a very important task, which was to form two left and right columns with the Red First Army to open the way for the central organs, the Central Column , and the Military Commission Column.
Not long after the Red Third Army set out, it was blocked by the enemy in the county town of Xinfeng . During the battle, the commander of the Red 4th Division, Hong Chao, unfortunately died, and lost the vanguard commander as soon as he sent troops, which also made Peng Dehuai particularly anxious. The Red 4th Division is responsible for the vanguard mission, so who should replace Hong Chao to take on this burden?
Just when Peng Dehuai didn't know what to do, He thought of Zhang Zongxun, the commander of the 14th Division of the Red Third Army, who had made military achievements. After discussing with the legion political commissar Yang Shangkun, they jointly sent a telegram to the Central Military Commission, requesting to transfer Zhang Zongxun to the 4th Division of the Red Third Army as the division commander.
At this time, Zhang Zongxun had just served as the chief of staff of the Central Column. He suddenly received a transfer order during the march. Although he was a little confused, he still rushed to the Red Third Army to report.On October 29, Zhang Zongxun came to the command center of the Red Third Army. As soon as he dismounted, Peng Dehuai came up and said:
"You came just right, ahead of you is the second blockade line of the enemy. Now many people are watching our Red Third Army, and our army mainly relies on the Red 4th Division. I will give you the only artillery company in the legion. You must organize carefully and fight firmly to open the way for the legion!"
As soon as Peng Dehuai finished speaking, he took Zhang Zongxun to the Red Fourth Division and introduced him to other cadres of the Red Fourth Division. Huang Kecheng, who was the political commissar of the Red Fourth Division at the time, took the initiative to introduce to Zhang Zongxun:
"Our Fourth Division is an old team adapted from the Red 5th Army after the Pingjiang Uprising . He can attack and fight well. Please be responsible for the future war affairs. I don't have a good eye, especially at night. I will try to take care of other matters to reduce your burden."
Zhang Zongxun said modestly: "I am a newcomer and don't know much about the situation of the Fourth Division. I will ask you to help you in the future."
Zhang Zongxun learned about the general situation of the Fourth Division, and then led the division command personnel and the commanders of each regiment to the scene to study the methods to break through the second blockade line of the enemy. Soon after, Zhang Zongxun reported the formulated combat plan to Peng Dehuai and obtained his consent.
On November 6, after careful deployment, Zhang Zongxun directed the soldiers to launch an attack. The Fourth Red Division successively broke through the second and third blockade lines of the enemy, and opened a large gap in the enemy's fourth blockade line, controlling the Xiangjiang River surface, which is more than 10 kilometers wide, and opening a ferry for subsequent troops to cross the river.
Because the advance troops of the Red Fourth Division and other advanced too quickly, the Central Column, the Military Commission Column and other troops were left far behind. Peng Dehuai was very anxious when he learned about this situation. He called the Military Commission many times to ask them to move forward quickly. At the same time, he also ordered Zhang Zongxun to command various regiments to seize favorable terrain to facilitate the reception of subsequent troops.
Because the subsequent troops marched too slowly, they did not arrive at the ferry venue until November 27, which also lost the best time to cross the river. Most importantly, Chiang Kai-shek has ordered more than 20 divisions from the four provinces of Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Guizhou to form a "pursuing and suppression army", rushing from all directions to launch a fierce battle with our army.
The Red Fourth Division fought fiercely for three days and three nights in the face of the enemy's crazy attack, repelling the enemy's multiple attacks, successfully covering the Central Column and the Military Commission Column successfully crossing the river, but it paid the price of more than 600 casualties. Afterwards, Peng Dehuai said: "You fight very well. If you hadn't resisted the enemy, the consequences would be unimaginable! I have asked the Military Commission to ask for merit for you."
Zhang Zongxun said sadly: "It doesn't matter whether the merit is successful or not, but many comrades have died here. If the follow-up troops can be faster, we wouldn't have paid such a heavy price. Please report to your superiors and summarize the lessons as soon as possible." Peng Dehuai nodded heavily.
Central Red Army After crossing the Xiangjiang River, the Central Military Commission ordered the Red Third Army and the Red First Army to continue to be divided into two columns, and then launch an attack on the northern part of Guizhou, where the enemy's troops are relatively weak. Zhang Zongxun led the Fourth Red Division as the vanguard, advanced westward, and occupied Zunyi City on January 7, 1935. Peng Dehuai ordered Zhang Zongxun’s troops to serve as a guard near Zunyi City and rest on the spot.
After Chiang Kai-shek discovered that the Red Army was resting in Zunyi , he immediately ordered the troops in Yunnan and Guizhou to launch an attack on Zunyi. The Red Army took the initiative to withdraw from Zunyi under the command of Chairman Mao, retreated back with great strides, confusing the enemy and creating fighter opportunities. After a month of swimming, fighter jets that are beneficial to our army finally appeared.
htmlOn February 24, after the Red Army occupied the Tongzi County, Guibei, the reconnaissance learned that in the area from Tongzi County in the north and from Zunyi to more than 100 miles south, only three regiments belonging to the Guizhou warlord Wang Jialie were stationed, and in addition, they were scattered and isolated, so it was very easy to attack.Chairman Mao, Zhou Enlai and others discussed and decided that Peng Dehuai would unify the command of the Red 1 and Red 3rd Army, initiate the Battle of Zunyi, and annihilate Wang Jialie's troops.When returning to Zunyi, there is only a way to pass the highway of Loushanguan , but in Loushanguan and nearby areas, there is a regiment of enemy troops used for defense. Therefore, the capture of Loushan Pass became the prelude to this battle.
February 25, Peng Dehuai decided to use a force to pretend to attack Loushan Pass along the highway, but in fact he ordered Zhang Zongxun, the commander of the 10th Regiment, to lead his troops to cross the mountains and forests from the right side of the highway and detour to the rear of Loushan Pass.
Zhang Zongxun led his troops to climb mountains and ridges for a night, and finally detoured the side and rear of Loushan Pass and seized the commanding heights. After the defending enemy discovered that they were surrounded by our army, they quickly gave up here and fled to Zunyi. After seeing this, Zhang Zongxun hurriedly led his troops to pursue him until he chased him to the city of Zunyi. This also opened a passage for the main force of the Red 1 and Red 3rd Army to return to Zunyi.
In the next battle with the enemy for Laoya Mountain, Zhang Zongxun was accidentally hit by the enemy's machine gun , and then fell into a coma due to excessive blood loss. After learning about this situation, Peng Dehuai personally dispatched medical staff to rescue him with all his might. After the rescue and careful care of medical staff, Zhang Zongxun woke up soon.
Seeing Zhang Zongxun awakening, Peng Dehuai said to him: "Thank you, the King of Hell, for not accepting you. Since you evacuated the Central Soviet Area, the burden on you has not been removed. Thank you for your hard work. But you also have to learn from your lessons. Commanding the battle cannot be too forward. Why do you have to get into the range of the enemy machine gun?"
Zhang Zongxun smiled bitterly and said: "I originally wanted to share the burden for you, but I didn't expect it to become a burden." Peng Dehuai comforted: "Don't think so, I will definitely find a way to heal your injuries. We still have to fight together!"
Under Peng Dehuai's care, the army dispatched five or six strong soldiers to carry Zhang Zongxun on a stretcher. However, because Zhang Zongxun's injuries were too serious and he marched and fought every day, in order not to drag down the troops, he offered to go to the rear hospital for treatment. In early April, with the consent of Chairman Mao, Zhang Zongxun left the Red Third Army and came to the Central Rest Company for treatment.
Peng Dehuai and Zhang Zongxun, in the Red Third Army, experienced more than 150 days and nights with the most frequent and intense battles during the Long March. Although the two had different opinions on combat issues, they never blushed. When the battle was fierce, Peng Dehuai lost his temper and spoke slutty to others many times, but he was always very polite to Zhang Zongxun.
Although the two separated for a while, they left deep trust and friendship in each other's hearts, laying a solid emotional foundation for their subsequent cooperation and work together.
Chairman Mao asked Huang Yongsheng: Where has Zhang Zongxun gone?
In August 1937, Zhang Zongxun served as the commander of the 358th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army. During this period, he also made great achievements.
During the Battle of Xinkou, Shanxi, Zhang Zongxun led the soldiers deep into the enemy's rear, attacked Yongxing Village at night, and successfully annihilated hundreds of enemy troops; on October 18, Zhang Zongxun set up an ambush at Yanmen Pass , annihilated more than 500 enemy troops; on October 27, he ambushed the enemy cavalry squadron at Beihangkou, killed more than 70 enemy troops, and seized dozens of guns. The battles he led strongly cooperated and supported friendly forces in fighting against the enemy.
On November 3, 1938, in order to cooperate with Fu Zuoyi's troops' "Counterattack on Sui and Bao" campaign, Zhang Zongxun led the 358th Brigade to set up an ambush in the talc area and annihilate more than 700 people below the enemy brigade commander. In February 1942, the command troops crushed the Japanese army's conspiracy to eliminate the 358th Brigade, destroyed the "iron wall encirclement" of the anti-Japanese base in northwestern Shanxi, and further consolidated the anti-Japanese base in northwestern Shanxi.
1946, after Chiang Kai-shek's plan to fully attack the liberated areas was ruined, in order to save his dying rule, he focused on the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Liberated Area and the Shandong Liberated Area. The purpose is to break the left and right arms of the liberated area, then attack the main force of the North China PLA from the east and west directions, block the connection between the North China PLA and the Northeast PLA, defeat them one by one, and finally leave the customs and occupy the Northeast region...
In this plan, attacking the central location Yan'an is Chiang Kai-shek's top priority. The situation in Yan'an is very dangerous in the face of a great enemy. Chairman Mao sent a telegram to He Long, asking him to transfer the Jinsui First Column led by Zhang Zongxun to aid northern Shaanxi.
After receiving the order, Zhang Zongxun immediately gathered the troops. After the personnel and materials were replenished, he rushed to Yan'an day and night. The main force arrived in the area south of Yan'an at the end of November, and Zhang Zongxun once again assumed the task of defending the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao.
As soon as Zhang Zongxun returned to Yan'an, he came to see Chairman Mao. Chairman Mao said cordially: "When your troops arrive, Mr. Zhu and I will go and see you, just to visit our comrades, don't arrange it."
On December 7, all the officers and soldiers of the Jinsui First Column lined up at Yan'an Airport to be inspected by Chairman Mao and Mr. Zhu. Zhang Zongxun accompanied Chairman Mao to walk slowly through the brigades and teams, and introduced the main leading cadres of each brigade and regiment one by one. Chairman Mao walked from the front to the rear, from the front to the back, from here to see that this was not an ordinary military parade, but the Supreme Commander visited his Guards at a close distance.
Yan'an was already very cold at that time, but Chairman Mao still smiled and waved to the commanders and fighters frequently, and the commanders and fighters also shouted loudly in the cold wind: "Defend Chairman Mao to the death! Defend the Party Central Committee to the death!" This time, Chairman Mao and Chairman Zhu personally inspected it, which also greatly encouraged the troops, and then turned to more intense combat preparations.
Under Chiang Kai-shek's strict supervision, Hu Zongnan mobilized 34 brigades of troops from southern Shanxi and western Henan to the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, which was far more than 9 times the strength of the border region. Chiang Kai-shek wanted to take Yan'an directly and destroy the central government.
Under such severe circumstances, Chairman Mao decided to voluntarily evacuate Yan'an. In order to facilitate coordination, the Central Military Commission decided to combine the troops of the Shaanxi-Gansui Border Region and the upcoming Jinsui Second Column into the Northwest Field Corps, which was directly commanded by Peng Dehuai. Zhang Zongxun served as deputy commander of the Northwest Field Corps and commander of the First Column, leading the soldiers to fight with their brothers, and was responsible for the task of defending Chairman Mao and the Party Central Committee.
In the War of Liberation, the first column of the Northwest Field Army, , directly commanded by Zhang Zongxun, successfully completed the tasks assigned to them by the organization. The 358th Brigade is the main force of the First Column and one of the three main forces of the Northwest Field Army. Among them, the 6th Company of the 714th Regiment showed its might in the battle of Yiwa in 1948, and was a well-known tough guy in the entire army.
The first column participated in the Yan'an defense battle in northern Shaanxi and fought fiercely with the enemy troops several times their own for seven days and seven nights, finally shattering Chiang Kai-shek's dream of occupying Yan'an for three days and excellently covering the evacuation of the Party Central Committee. Immediately afterwards, the First Column participated in three battles in Qinghuabian, Yangmahe and Panlong, with three victories and three victories, and made first-class contributions.
At August 1947, the battle of Shajiadian ambushed one of Hu Zongnan’s three main forces - reorganized 36th Division . The First Column and the 36th Division of the enemy fought fiercely for a whole day, winning the Shajiadian battle, shattering the key offensive of the Kuomintang army in northern Shaanxi, making the situation of the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao safe, and also transforming the Northwest Station from inside defense to inside counterattack.
In October 1950, after Peng Dehuai went to Korea to participate in the war, with the approval of Chairman Mao, Zhang Zongxun was appointed as the commander of the Northwest Military Region of the Northwest Field Army to support the work of the Northwest War Zone; in October 1952, Chairman Mao appointed Zhang Zongxun as the deputy chief of staff of the Central Military Commission; in 1955, Zhang Zongxun was awarded the rank of general.
1971, because he had not seen his beloved general Zhang Zongxun for a long time, Chairman Mao asked Huang Yongsheng when he was listening to the report: "Where has Zhang Zongxun gone?" Huang Yongsheng did not expect Chairman Mao to ask about Zhang Zongxun's situation, and said: "He went to Jinan Military Region ." Immediately afterwards, Zhang Zongxun was appointed as deputy commander of the Jinan Military Region.
Not long after, under the care of Zhou Enlai and Ye Jianying, Zhang Zongxun was appointed as the Minister of the General Logistics Department. In February 1975, the Military Commission decided to allow Zhang Zongxun to attend the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Military Commission. In July 1988, because he was no longer in the army, Zhang Zongxun was not awarded the military rank, but he was awarded the first-class Red Star Merit and Honorable Tie.
998 On September 14, 1998, Zhang Zongxun, an outstanding representative of the Northwest Field Army, who grew up from Jinggangshan and followed Chairman Mao’s battles in the south and the northwest field army, passed away in Beijing at the age of 91. Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and Li Peng expressed condolences for Zhang Zongxun's death in different ways and expressed cordial condolences to his relatives.
