On January 1, 1949, the "People's Daily" published the list of the Kuomintang's top war criminals, and Wei Lihuang was among them.
But at this moment, Wei Lihuang shed tears excitedly, relieved, sighed, and said with emotion: "The Communist Party is still smart! The Communist Party has not forgotten me! I can be saved!"
If you want to know why Wei Lihuang had such a reaction at this time, you have to start with the relationship between this general who has spent his life in the military and the Communist Party of China.
1. The revolutionary friendship forged with the three leaders of the Communist Party of China in the flames of war
Wei Lihuang's meeting with Mao Zedong in Yan'an had a great impact on Wei Lihuang's life. It was also from that time that the Chinese Communist Party's Anti-Japanese National United Front slowly took root and sprouted in Wei Lihuang's heart. He and the Chairman also began a revolutionary friendship that lasted for more than 20 years.
In 1938, the flames of the Anti-Japanese War ignited the entire land of China. As soon as the Taiyuan Defense War ended, the Japanese army assembled four divisions with more than 100,000 troops and rushed south from Taiyuan in an attempt to capture the entire territory of Shanxi and eventually the entire North China region.
At that time, Wei Lihuang, the former enemy commander in chief of the Second Theater, failed in the Battle of Hanxinling. Just when he was considering whether to transfer his troops to Zhongtiao Mountain, , secretary Zhao Rongsheng boldly suggested: "It is better to transfer to Yan'an to meet Mao Zedong and get familiar with Yan'an."
Wei Lihuang was moved by this suggestion, so he immediately asked Zhao Rongsheng to draft a Yan'an speech.
In April 1938, Wei Lihuang set out from Yanshui Pass and went straight to Yan'an. Chairman Mao hosted a banquet in a simple cave dwelling to entertain this special guest.
Along the way, Wei Lihuang passed through the crowds of people who welcomed him. He heard everyone shouting slogans such as "Welcome Deputy Commander Wei" and saw Chairman Mao waiting in front of the door early. When he saw him, he shook hands enthusiastically.
All this is like a warm wind blowing into my heart. Wei Lihuang had never felt such sincere and simple warmth.
Like an old friend, Chairman Mao discussed the situation of China's Anti-Japanese War with him. His anti-Japanese national united front theory deeply influenced Wei Lihuang. This was also the theoretical thought that he always adhered to in the future Anti-Japanese War.
During this trip to Yan'an, Wei Lihuang saw the Eighth Route Army's heroic and tenacious spirit despite limited material conditions. What he saw and felt along the way deeply moved this iron-clad man.
So at Chairman Mao's suggestion, Wei Lihuang decided to send a "big gift" to the Eighth Route Army: 1 million rounds of ammunition, 250,000 hand grenades , 180 boxes of a hard-to-find can of beef, summer clothes for three divisions, 50 telephones, and some medical supplies.
This batch of strategic materials was extremely precious at the time, and played a vital role in the Eighth Route Army's timely replenishment of strategic materials and improvement of combat effectiveness.
Although the Kuomintang obstructed it, this batch of strategic materials was eventually loaded onto trucks from a warehouse near Xi'an City and transported to the Eighth Route Army headquarters. For the Eighth Route Army who were short of food and clothing, this was a timely help!
Wei Lihuang also thought about and agreed with the Communist Party of China's anti-war theory from his heart. He repeatedly read Chairman Mao's " On Protracted War". After reading it, he was deeply inspired and admired the chairman's ideological height even more.
After the Battle of Xinkou (xīn), Wei Lihuang met Zhou Enlai three times in total. Although each meeting was in a hurry due to the tension of the war, every conversation with Zhou Enlai made Wei Lihuang feel like meeting an old friend.
Zhou Enlai asked him cordially about the battle in Shanxi every time and analyzed the situation in North China with him. Zhou Enlai told him: "We must unite all forces, arouse the people, and destroy the enemy."
These ideas had a profound impact on Wei Lihuang and made him admire the magnanimity and magnanimity of the Chinese Communist Party even more.
Wei Lihuang later recalled: "Zhou Enlai's personality charm, unique leadership skills and profound ideological theory had an important influence on the turning point of his life. He was the first person to change his understanding of the Communist Party of China."
Wei Lihuang and Zhu De also had a profound revolutionary friendship. When the Japanese army attacked Shanxi in 1937, Wei Lihuang was ordered to guard Shanxi.
More than 50,000 Japanese troops, under the cover of dozens of tanks and armored vehicles , launched a fierce attack on Xinkou. Wei Lihuang's troops suffered heavy losses and resisted to the death.
At this time, Zhu De successively called He Long, Lin Biao and others to cut off the traffic in the rear of the Japanese army and attack the Japanese army from the side and back. He effectively cooperated with the frontal battlefield and gave Wei Lihuang great support.
In 1938, Wei Lihuang and Zhu De met for the first time. They were like old friends and were extremely cordial.
From their youthful ideals to the country’s future, the two always had endless topics to talk about. Wei Lihuang was even more admired by Zhu De for his simplicity, sincerity and always caring about the country.
Even when relations between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party were tense later, Wei Lihuang advocated peaceful coexistence through negotiation, unity first, and never attacked the Eighth Route Army.
This also aroused the suspicion of Chiang Kai-shek and some Kuomintang die-hards . In 1942, Wei Lihuang was transferred from the First War Zone.
2. The Anti-Japanese War was unanimously aimed at the outside world
When the vicious Japanese imperialists set foot on our soil and brutally killed our people, every passionate Chinese soldier would be filled with righteous indignation and resist to the death. Wei Lihuang is one of them.
On the battlefield in North China, the Kuomintang troops commanded by Wei Lihuang stubbornly resisted the enemy's fierce attack. With the support of the Eighth Route Army's rear, the Battle of Xinkou killed more than 20,000 enemy troops, defeating the arrogance of the Japanese army.
In 1938, the Anti-Japanese War entered a stalemate stage. Chiang Kai-shek set off a climax of "melting the Communists, preventing the Communists, restricting the Communists, and opposing the Communists". Military frictions between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party increased.
In 1940, in order to attack the Eighth Route Army in North China, Chiang Kai-shek openly ordered the Eighth Route Army in the Shanxi-Hebei-Henan region to withdraw from the Shangdang area and hand it over to the Kuomintang army, and ordered Wei Lihuang to take command.
Wei Lihuang had always recognized the Eighth Route Army's anti-war ideology, united all forces, and faced the outside world with the same gun, so he immediately replied to Chiang Kai-shek: "Exchanging fire with the Eighth Route Army will only make the civil war bigger and bigger, which is not conducive to the war of resistance. The most important task now is the resistance against Japan."
Wei Lihuang's answer made Chiang Kai-shek very angry, and also put Wei Lihuang into a dilemma.
But in a time of national crisis, how can we point our guns at the enemy? He always fulfilled his promise and never opened fire on the Eighth Route Army. Instead, he led his troops in fierce battles with the Japanese army again and again, regardless of hardships and dangers.
In addition to the North China battlefield, we have to mention Wei Lihuang's expedition to Yunnan and Burma, where he fought bravely against Japan.
On the battlefield of Yunnan and Burma, Wei Lihuang still firmly believed in the united front ideology of the Communist Party of China and knew the importance of correctly handling factional disputes in the army.
He advocated uniting all forces and effectively utilizing local armed forces and ethnic minority mass forces to effectively ensure the supply of strategic materials on the Yunnan-Burma battlefield.
At the same time, Wei Lihuang used international assistance to win more weapons and ammunition, training guidance, and some medical facilities for the Chinese Expeditionary Force.
The U.S. military actively cooperated with Wei Lihuang to blow up Japanese airports and intercept Japanese aircraft, which provided air control guarantee for the victory of the Yunnan-Burma Anti-Japanese War.
These are all manifestations of Wei Lihuang's practice of the CCP's united front thinking. In this battle, Wei Lihuang made great achievements and was called the "Victorious General".
3. Staying still on the Northeast battlefield
In 1947, the civil war in the Northeast was in full swing, and the Kuomintang troops suffered heavy losses. Chiang Kai-shek ordered Wei Lihuang, who was in France, to return to China and serve as the commander-in-chief of the "Suppression Commander" in the Northeast, responsible for commanding all the Kuomintang troops in the Northeast and the People's Liberation Army in the decisive battle.
This task put Wei Lihuang in a dilemma. Out of his great trust in Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party, he drafted a telegram: "I hope the civil war will end soon. I am determined to stand on the side of the people and am willing to cooperate with relevant parties of the Chinese Communist Party..."
This telegram was later transferred to the hands of the Chinese Communist Party through his wife's aunt, niece and son-in-law. These are enough to illustrate Wei Lihuang's inner position and firm belief at that time.
Therefore, when Wei Lihuang served as the commander-in-chief of the "Suppression General" in Northeast China, he adopted the strategy of "passive waiting and no action".He emphasized at military meetings many times: "The Communist Party is good at sieging cities and providing reinforcements. We must not take it lightly, so our first task at present is to hold on to Shenyang and seek a turnaround."
After the Liaoshen Campaign started, Chiang Kai-shek ordered Wei Lihuang to go to relieve the siege of Jinzhou. Wei Lihuang excused that holding on to Shenyang was the most important and did not go to reinforce.
also failed to cooperate with Liao Yaoxiang's troops, so Liao Yaoxiang's regiment was completely wiped out in the Liaoshen Campaign. After Chiang Kai-shek learned about it, he put him under house arrest in Nanjing on the grounds that he "hesitated and missed the opportunity to fight."
In early 1949, when the Kuomintang suspected that Wei Lihuang was pro-communist, the People's Daily published a list of the Kuomintang's top war criminals, and Wei Lihuang was among them.
This made Wei Lihuang very excited, and he sighed with relief: "The Communist Party has not forgotten me! I can be saved!"
Of course, he also knew very well that this was the Communist Party's protection for him in a special period. Chiang Kai-shek ordered Wei Lihuang to go to Taiwan many times, but he was unwilling to go to Taiwan with the Kuomintang, so he took the opportunity to escape from Nanjing and live in seclusion in Hong Kong.
4. Return to the motherland
In 1955, Wei Lihuang once again refused the Kuomintang's arrangement for him to return to Taiwan and returned to Beijing from Hong Kong.
His return was cordially received by Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai.
Zhu De was very happy after hearing the news. He sent a special person to take Wei Lihuang to his office. Everyone was filled with emotion when meeting old friends after so many years!
Although they once belonged to different teams, they all have a common goal: hoping that the motherland will become independent and prosperous as soon as possible! This was also Wei Lihuang's biggest expectation when he followed Mr. Sun Yat-sen in his early days!
Wei Lihuang also published a "Letter to Friends in Taiwan", calling for peaceful reunification across the Taiwan Strait!
Later, Wei Lihuang served as vice chairman of the National Defense Commission and member of the Standing Committee of the Second and Third National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
Perhaps for Wei Lihuang, life has many honorary titles.
Some people call him the fiercest "Tiger General" among Chiang Kai-shek's "Five Tiger Generals", some call him an anti-Japanese hero, some call him a good friend of the Communist Party, and the American " Time Magazine " calls him China's ever-victorious general.
In fact, no matter which title he is given, it all tells one fact: he is a brave and fearless soldier who has experienced hundreds of battles, and a Chinese who cares about the country and supports the reunification of the motherland!
. END .
Text: Jiang Ying
