[Story of Revolutionary Martyrs] Commander of the New Fourth Army: Ye Ting

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Ye Ting, born in 1896 in Guishan (now Huiyang), Guangdong, a peasant family, is the founder of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army and the leader of the New Fourth Army People, outstanding military strategists. In his early years, he followed Sun Yat-sen to participate in the revolution and participated in the aid of Fujian and Guangdong Army. He was killed on April 8, 1946 in Heicha Mountain, Xing County, Shanxi. He was 50 years old.

In 1924, Ye Ting was sent to study in the Chinese Class of the Communist University of Eastern Laborers in the Soviet Union and the Red Army School. Joined the Communist Party of China in December of the same year. He returned to China in September 1925 and participated in the formation of the Independent Regiment of the 4th Army with Communist Party members as the backbone, and served as its commander. Since then, the unit has become an armed force directly controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. In order to make the Independence Regiment a strong and invincible revolutionary army, Ye Ting led the cadres and soldiers to start strict training. The first is to change the military's usual "three exercises and two stresses" into "four exercises and three stresses" military training; the second is to strengthen political training. Ye Ting knows that on the battlefield, besides the excellent weapons and equipment and the superb skills of the soldiers, the officers and soldiers are particularly important to establish a firm revolutionary ideal.

In 1926, at the beginning of the Northern Expedition, Ye Ting was ordered to lead the Independence Regiment to advance northward to defeat the Northern Warlord Wu Peifu. In June, he went to Anren and Youxian, Hunan, and defeated the 4 regiments of Jiangxi and Guangdong troops that had taken refuge in Wu Peifu. Then the main force of the 4th Army attacked Liling and Pingjiang, fought fiercely, rushed and pursued, drove straight forward, winning even battles. After the frontal force attack was blocked in the Battle of Tingsi Bridge, he led his troops over the mountain and fell on the enemy's side unexpectedly, defeated the enemy, and pursued the victory for more than 20 kilometers to capture Xianning County. Following the attack on Hesheng Bridge, where Wu Peifu led a heavy guard, the troops were strictly ordered to concentrate their forces to support the main attack direction, and successively broke through the core positions of the enemy forces such as Yindoushan and Railway Bridge to occupy Hesheng Bridge. In the battle of Wuchang, the command troops broke into the city. After fierce street fighting, they cooperated with the friendly forces to capture the commanding heights of Snake Mountain, forcing the enemy to surrender. During the Northern Expedition, he made good judgments and repeatedly made military exploits. He was hailed as a "famous soldier of the Northern Expedition" and successfully completed the trust of "drinking horses and Yangtze River, meet in Wuhan" entrusted by the party, thus winning the honorary title of "Iron Army".

During the Nanchang Uprising, he served as the commander-in-chief of the former enemy. Served as commander-in-chief during the Guangzhou Uprising. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, he served as commander of the New Fourth Army. In October 1937, he was summoned to Yan'an to meet Mao Zedong, the leader of the CPC Central Committee, and resolutely resisted the war to the end. In 1938, he and Xiang Ying, secretary of the Southeast Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (later Southeast Bureau) and deputy commander of the New Fourth Army, led the troops to advance behind the enemy in Central China, launch a guerrilla war, and create an anti-Japanese base. In order to implement the strategy of “consolidate south, fight east, and develop north” formulated by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China for the New Fourth Army, he crossed the Japanese blockade and crossed the Yangtze River north in May 1939. He presided over the establishment of the Jiangbei Command of the New Fourth Army in central Anhui. The troops were reorganized and expanded, advanced into the enemy's rear in eastern Anhui separately, and opened up anti-Japanese base areas on the east and west sides of Jinpu Road in Huainan. On October 2, 1940, more than 5,000 Japanese troops, with the cooperation of the Air Force, attacked the New Fourth Army Headquarters in Yunling, Jing County, southern Anhui. He went to the front line to command the troops directly under the military headquarters, chose to deploy troops on dangerous terrain, and used active defensive tactics of interception, camera counterattack, and day and night harassment. He consumed and exhausted the enemy. After 7 days and nights of tenacious fighting, he killed and injured hundreds of Japanese soldiers. Repelled the enemy across the board on the morning of the 8th. Following a fierce pursuit of his troops to the county seat of Jingxian County, he defeated the enemy again and recovered the county seat. In November of the same year, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided that he would be the commander-in-chief of the Central China New Fourth Army and the Eighth Route Army, and Chen Yi would be the deputy commander-in-chief (before Ye Ting took office northward, Chen Yi would act on his behalf). During his tenure in the New Fourth Army, Ye Ting had many negotiations and struggles with Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang authorities regarding the Kuomintang’s policy of restricting the development of the New Fourth Army in terms of establishment, funding, defense zones, and relations between the two armed forces. At the same time, he also used his influence to carry out anti-Japanese united front work, so as to raise money for supplies and guns from patriots, overseas Chinese, international figures, and friends in the Kuomintang, and mobilized a group of scholars, deceased and relatives to join the New Fourth Army to strengthen the anti-Japanese forces. .

In January 1941, the Kuomintang die-hards created the Southern Anhui Incident that shocked China and foreign countries. Under the severe circumstances of being heavily surrounded by the Kuomintang army, Ye Ting commanded the troops to break through the encirclement, fighting bloody for 8 days and nights, and was detained while negotiating with the Kuomintang army. After Ye Ting was detained, he faced the coercion and temptation of Chiang Kai-shek, Chen Cheng, and Gu Zhu., He sternly refused, steadfast and unyielding. Write a letter to Chiang Kai-shek saying: "I am quite unwilling to stubbornly commit suicide, and I am willing to protect his true feelings and go to hell", "Personal integrity is immutable to death"; and made the "Prisoner Song" clearly stated that he would not" Climbing out of the dog’s hole" to accept "freedom", but only looking forward to "getting eternal life in the fire and blood." This poem expresses his noble feelings of being loyal to the revolution and preferring to die.

After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Ye Ting was rescued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and was released on March 4, 1946. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China resumed its telegram on the 7th, praising him for his loyal efforts in the cause of China's national liberation and people's liberation for more than 20 years, and he has experienced various severe tests. On April 8, Ye Ting was killed in a plane crash on the way from Chongqing to Yan'an.

After Ye Ting's death, Mao Zedong wrote an elegy dedicated to General Ye Ting "Die for the people, even though death is glorious", highly appraising and summarizing General Ye Ting's short tortuous and determined revolutionary life. Ye Ting's life was a life of fighting for the independence of the Chinese nation and the revolutionary cause of the Chinese people. His selfless and fearless dedication and outstanding contributions will last forever in history.

Source: "100 Revolutionary Martyrs Who Touched China", Dali Police