Introduction
In the summer of 1973, Yang Zhenning and his wife returned to their motherland in their hearts for the third time. During the meal, Chairman Mao said to Yang Zhenning: "Please say hello to your father-in-law on my behalf."
Yang Zhenning's name can be said to be known to everyone, but who is his father-in-law? Why did Chairman Mao treat him specifically?
In fact, Yang Zhenning's father-in-law is the Kuomintang general Du Yuming .
Yang Zhenning
01 Du Yuming gained a foothold in the Kuomintang
1 January 10, 1949, time came to the end of Huaihai Battle . Under the unstoppable offensive of the North China Field Army, the Kuomintang has basically been completely defeated.
As the deputy commander of the Kuomintang’s Xuzhou “Suppression Headquarters” and the main commander of the Huaihai Battle, Du Yuming also became a prisoner of the Communist Party on this day.
And his capture also became a sign of the end of the Huaihai Battle.
On November 28, 1905, Du Yuming was born in Dujiawan, East District, Mizhi County, Shaanxi Province. His father was a very influential landlord in the area.
At home, Du Yuming ranked fifth at home, with four sisters on it. Therefore, he is the only eldest son in his family. Du Yuming was born, and his family was naturally ecstatic.
But no one could have imagined that he would become a senior general who was famous in China in the future.
1924, Du Yuming, who was unwilling to stay in the countryside for the rest of his life, said goodbye to his family and went south to Guangzhou to apply for the exam. With the help of Yu Youren and others, Du Yuming successfully entered Whampoa Military Academy and became a student of the first phase.
Soon after, he successfully joined the Kuomintang. After graduating from the first phase, two teaching regiments were established, and Du Yuming became an intern officer of the first regiment and was soon promoted to deputy platoon leader.
In February 1925, the Guangzhou Revolutionary Government launched the first eastern expedition of , with the goal of attacking Chen Jiongming. Du Yuming, a member of the propaganda team of the teaching team, participated in the Tamsui Battle.
Due to illness, he temporarily left the Huangpu teaching team. In 1925, Du Yuming was transferred to the propaganda team to participate in the battle. At that time, the commander of the Second Army of the National Army, Hu Jingyi, also wanted to follow the example of the Whampoa Military Academy to establish a school of the same type, and Du Yuming went to help.
However, Hu Jingyi passed away and the military academy was suspended. Du Yuming, who had nowhere to settle down, had to return to his hometown in northern Shaanxi. Later, he served as deputy battalion commander of the National Revolutionary Army and was tasked with guarding Sun Yat-sen's coffin. After
, Du Yuming turned to Wuhan due to disagreement with the regiment commander and served as company commander under Zhang Zhizhong.
Du Yuming is flexible in dealing with people, honest and hardworking in his work, and flexible in dealing with people. Zhang Zhizhong trusts him very much and has promoted him to take up his post in Nanjing Central Military Academy and the Second Teacher.
Until now, he is just an unknown little person. In 1930, Du Yuming was already the colonel leader of the Sixth Regiment of the Second Division. In the same year, the Second Division was changed to the Fourth Army Division, and Du Yuming was changed to the 24th Regiment.
Du Yuming felt that this position was extremely important, so he worked extra hard to govern the army strictly, and refused to slack off at all. In addition to his leadership and military qualities, he managed the 24th Regiment in an orderly manner.
His efforts were not in vain. He was promoted to brigade commander of the 73rd Brigade of the 25th Division, and immediately took on the position of deputy division commander. From then on, Du Yuming finally gained a foothold in the Jiang family dynasty.
After experiencing Great Wall Anti-Japanese War , Du Yuming came to the first session of the higher education class of Nanjing Central Military Academy to study. During this period, he joined Fuxing Society and became one of the few members of the Kuomintang generals.
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Chiang Kai-shek deliberately provoked the civil war . On November 15, 1945, Du Yuming attacked Shanhaiguan with two armies, broke through the pass the next day, and fought until Jinzhou . Then the Kuomintang and the Communist armies continued to increase their troops, and the battles became bigger and bigger.
02 Captured in the War of Liberation
On May 14, 1946, Du Yuming concentrated 10 divisions of troops to besiege Siping . Lin Biao took the initiative to retreat, Du Yuming's troops entered Siping, and then occupied Changchun and Yongji .
After that, Du Yuming decided to adopt the combat policy of attacking the south and defending the north, first south and then north, and planned to eliminate the South Manchuria Communist Army first, and then turn all his strength to the north to capture the North Manchuria area, and then occupy the entire northeast.
Lin Biao faced tit-for-tat, adopted the combat policy of "fighting south to pull the north, fighting south to pull the south", went to the south three times and protected Linjiang four times. Du Yuming could only run back and forth, and could only give up the policy of "attacking the south and defending the north, first south and then north", and then adopted the combat policy of "inside combat and lasting defense".
After Du Yuming turned to defense, he still failed to get rid of the dilemma, and the defense system also showed a difficult situation. Therefore, Du Yuming asked Chiang Kai-shek to increase his troops.
But many troops were trapped in the quagmire, and no troops were lost to him at all. Du Yuming had no choice but to predict that Lin Biao would launch an attack soon and could only wait for him to be beaten.
As expected, his words finally came true. In May 1947, Lin Biao led his army south to launch a large-scale summer offensive. On June 15, the People's Liberation Army launched the Siping attack, and Chen Mingren resisted.
Du Yuming ordered Zhengdongguo to command troops to advance north and south to lift the siege of Siping. Even though he successfully rescued the siege, he still lost his troops and generals in the summer offensive and was in a more passive and disadvantageous position.
In this context, Du Yuming became depressed and left the Northeast to come to Shanghai for treatment.
In June 1948, Du Yuming, who had just been discharged from the hospital, was appointed as the deputy commander-in-chief of the "Suppression Headquarters" and commander of the 2nd Corps. Du Yuming got on this chariot and could only be loyal.
In the Huaihai Battle, the deputy commander-in-chief of Xuzhou's "Suppression Headquarters" was defeated in Liuji . As a defeated general, he could only walk as a plan, and took more than 10 people including followers and guards to make up the People's Liberation Army and fled to the south side of Liuji Zhang Laozhuang .
Just as he was at the end of his life, Du Yuming could only change into a soldier's costume, shaved off his beard, mingled among the soldiers, and hid behind a hidden object in Zhang Lao Village.
When the People's Liberation Army appeared in front of him, he lied that he was here to send prisoners. But when the People's Liberation Army shouted, all his followers put down their weapons and surrendered.
Du Yuming saw this and knew that his identity could not be hidden. In despair, he picked up his pistol and pointed it at his forehead to try to repay the party and country with death. Just as he pulled the trigger, he was stopped by the adjutant.
Du Yuming was captured
So, Du Yuming was taken into the village by these people. A few days later, when the People's Liberation Army interrogated him again, Du Yuming lied that he was a high military recruit of the 13th Corps.
He originally wanted to talk honestly with the chief, but when he saw that there were many prisoners around him, he was worried that the news of his surrender would affect his family, so he didn't say anything else. After
was captured, the name of "war criminal" has always made Du Yuming frightened and uneasy. In despair, he thought of suicide again.
Taking advantage of the time the guard left, he picked up a stone and slammed the head. Du Yuming also fainted. Fortunately, the People's Liberation Army discovered it in time and immediately sent him to the hospital for emergency treatment.
Du Yuming's abnormal performance finally aroused his suspicion. After being captured, he kept silent and refused to answer any questions. Chen Yi asked to meet him, but was rejected.
In order to prevent him from committing suicide again, the People's Liberation Army put heavy shackles on Du Yuming and sent him to Beijing Gongdelin Prison. In this way, Du Yuming became a transformed prisoner.
03 Du Yuming's thoughts gradually changed
In fact, from the day Du Yuming was captured, he saw with his own eyes that the People's Liberation Army treated prisoners with his own eyes and indeed implemented the policies of "preferential treatment of prisoners, no killing, no shame, no searching for pockets" announced by the Communist Party.
But Du Yuming felt in his heart that the Communist Party would never let him go easily. Although he was treated preferentially, he was full of doubts about the Communist Party. After being captured, Du Yuming suffered from four diseases. He only knew about the three types of lung disease, gastric ulcer, , and renal tuberculosis, and he never mentioned it to anyone. failed to commit suicide twice, so he simply thought of dying from illness and chronic suicide.
Once, just as Du Yuming was taking a shower, Section Chief Li of the Management Office saw his legs red and swollen, and hurriedly asked what was going on. But Du Yuming didn't say a word.
Section Chief Li was really anxious, so he asked him to stand up, his legs were together, and finally found that his buttocks were small and large. The next day, he was sent to Fuxing Hospital.
The result was bone tuberculosis . At first, the management office did not tell him what disease he was suffering from, but just put a plaster rack on his bed to make him lie down. After
, the management office gave him fresh milk every day. Du Yuming cannot eat hard food, so the cook cook will give him soft food; he cannot eat cold food, so the cook ate hot food.
When Shen Zui came to Gongdelin, Du Yuming had been lying on the plaster mold for nearly three years. At first, Shen Zui thought it was the punishment used to torture him.
Later, he finally couldn't help asking. After hearing this, Du Yuming laughed: " This is actually a plaster mold for me to treat cervical spondylosis . It is specifically used to correct my spinal deformation."
In addition, Du Yuming also suffered from severe kidney disease. At first, he thought it was just ordinary nephritis . Later, he became more and more difficult to urinate and found that things were not good.
After treatment in the hospital, he suffered from severe renal tuberculosis and needed surgery. At first, Du Yuming was a little pessimistic, believing that even if his illness was cured, he would definitely be disabled in the future.
Du Yuming, Puyi and others
After the ideological work of doctors and staff, his emotions gradually calmed down and he finally agreed to treat with spinal tuberculosis. The operation helped him remove a kidney and he recovered his health.
To treat tuberculosis , you need to take streptomycin . This medicine could not be produced in China at that time and needed to be imported. In order to cure his illness, the government specially asked someone to go to Hong Kong, Macau and other places to buy these medicines, and his illness was finally cured.
When Du Yuming was first imprisoned, he was unwilling to learn. He did not start to learn until he was received by Ma Yinchu and Liu Yazi. Later, he began to prepare to send him pens, inks and papers, and began to write down his experiences.
955, Du Yuming implicitly stated that he wanted to contact his family. The staff of the management office asked him to provide the situation, and he told the story of his family's trip to Taiwan.
Du Yuming's family of eight, old mother and wife Cao Xiuqing , three sons and three daughters. Six children in China, the eldest daughter Du Zhili married Yang Zhenning, the third and fourth are twins. Except for the boss Du Zhili who went to the United States to study, the rest of his children are in Taiwan.
The local government helped him contact Du Zhili. He learned about his current family situation and felt much more comfortable. Then, his hope was that his family would return to the mainland of his motherland.
Du Yuming and his wife
Under the care of the government, Du Yuming's thoughts undergo a tremendous change. He picked up a pen and wrote this passage on paper:
Under the care of the party's education, he cured my heart disease - thought disease, and healed my body disease - tuberculosis. It is a rebirth of kindness. Thinking of this, I feel that Chiang Kai-shek is not only the public enemy of the people, but also the enemy who harms me. He hates him to the bone. Chairman Mao and the Communist Party are my benefactors to save me. I am so grateful. From this, we deeply understand the great significance of the Party’s transformation of mankind, the world and the proletariat humanitarianism.
spoke in the group, and Du Yuming shed tears of gratitude when he read these words. As the saying goes, a man will not shed tears easily. Du Yuming, who has always been serious, was touched by this emotional touch, which was also the beginning of his ideological transformation.
04 Du Yuming was criticized for being pardoned
Du Yuming gradually lost the trouble of illness, was less serious, and became easy-going. Seeing that the war criminals' clothes were often torn and the bedding needed to be sewn, he proposed to set up a sewing team.
Under his leadership, this sewing organization was very lively and very angry. On the eve of National Day in 1958, they made a large number of cotton clothes for all the war criminals.
People are not plants and trees, so who can be ruthless?Inspired by the Communist Party’s policies, Du Yuming’s stubborn stone was finally moved.
Amnesty Conference
1959, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the founding of New China, Chairman Mao proposed to pardon a group of war criminals. After the amnesty order of was announced, Du Yuming did not expect that he would be pardoned.
On December 4, the amnesty meeting was held, and Du Yuming sat calmly in a corner. But what she didn't expect was that the first person to call was him.
The moment he heard his name read, happiness, joy and shame surged into Du Yuming's heart, and tears burst out in his eyes in an instant. From then on, Du Yuming was reborn and returned to the ranks of the people.
On December 13 of the same year, Du Yuming and the war criminals who were released were personally received by Zhou Enlai. Seeing Premier Zhou, Du Yuming said with guilt: "I'm sorry for the students who failed the teacher's teachings."
Zhou Enlai just waved his hand and said: "I can't blame your students. I blame you for not teaching you well."
Just one year after Du Yuming was pardoned, he organized him to be a member of the literature and history committee in National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference , and officially became the target of united front.
He was determined to repay the government's kindness, and based on his own personal experience, he wrote articles such as "The Beginning and End of the Battle of Huaihai" and "Overview of the Battle of Liaoshen".
After Du Yuming was pardoned, he took a pen to write a letter to his wife. Cao Xiuqing received a letter from her husband, abandoning the comfortable life of the United States and flew back to the motherland from the other side of the ocean. After 15 years of separation, the couple reunited again.
In November 1964, Du Yuming was elected as a member of the Fourth Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and later was elected as a member of the fifth National People's Congress deputy and a member of the fifth CCCC.
The time has reached the 1970s. With the improvement of Sino-US relations, Du Yuming's son-in-law and Nobel Prize winner Yang Zhenning returned to China with his wife in 1971 and 1972.
Zhou Enlai took time to meet Yang Zhenning and his wife, and asked Du Yuming and his wife to accompany him every time. In the summer of 1973, Yang Zhenning returned to China for the third time and was personally received by Chairman Mao.
Du Yuming and his wife in their later years
Du Yuming in his later years contacted relatives and friends at home and abroad, and ran for the multilateral call for peaceful reunification of the two sides.
Since 1960, Du Yuming has written articles, recorded and broadcasted almost every year to explain the truth and present the facts.
Just as Du Yuming was contributing his strength to the great cause of reunification of the motherland, the disease also attacked him.
On May 7, 1983, Du Yuming died of illness in Beijing at the age of 77. Before his death, he never forgot the great cause of reunification of his motherland.
On May 25, 1983, the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Auditorium held a grand memorial service for Du Yuming. Party and state leader Ye Jianying presented him with a wreath, and Deng Xiaoping, Deng Yingchao and others also attended the memorial service.
Indeed, the people will always miss Du Yuming and his contributions to the great cause of reunification of the motherland...
