Ying Cheng, formerly known as Ying Genyou, is 95 years old this year. For many years, he persisted in writing and repeatedly writing about the war he had witnessed. The author was fortunate enough to obtain the consent of the old man and his family, print out and proofread his handwritten manuscript, and publish it on the official account of Xiahe Hoe.
(twenty-nine) It’s like playing house
Once I met an old comrade who was serving in a navy in Fujian. He told me about the situation on the front line in Fujian. I found it very interesting and wrote it down.
An island on the Fujian front line is not far from Nanji Island in Zhejiang. Chiang Kai-shek used this island to counterattack the mainland. Due to the interference of US imperialism, our military failed to liberate Taiwan and these islands in time.
There was a large number of Kuomintang troops stationed on a certain island, and it would take Chiang Kai-shek three days and nights to transport supplies to these islands. , our navy's torpedo speedboat blocked the island and sank several medium-sized landing craft delivering supplies, weapons, ammunition and food.
It will be easy to liberate this island if you run out of ammunition and food. A week passed and there was no food, so the soldiers and civilians on the island had no choice but to raise the white flag. We also know that raising the white flag to the top of the mountain is surrender, but they raised it halfway up. They protested to Chiang Kai-shek: "If you don't send ammunition and food in time, we will have nothing to eat and nothing to fight."
At this time, the American imperialism wanted Chiang Kai-shek to abandon these islands, stick to Taiwan, and create two Chinas . Lao Jiang disagreed.
After the Party Central Committee found out, it obeyed Chiang Kai-shek's wishes and told them to open the country for a week and let them deliver supplies, but they had to do it without the escort of the US imperialists, otherwise they would still be attacked. The US imperialists also honestly dare not make mistakes.
Lao Chiang sent enough food and fodder for a week, and then the two sides continued to fight in the morning and at night. Later, he told him that since your ammunition has been used up and your food has been eaten up, we can supply you. When you are full, you can fight if you want to, but forget it if you don’t. The two sides seemed to be playing house and joking. Later,
was stopped without realizing it. I couldn’t figure out when it was stopped. The U.S. Seventh Fleet also withdrew quietly. The conspiracy of US imperialism to create two Chinas has never been achieved.
(Thirty) Recalling Comrade Sheng Bingtang, squad leader
All the islands in Zhejiang Province were liberated, and our troops also entered Hangzhou City. I remembered that my squad leader was from Hangzhou and lived in the Drum Tower area of Nanxingqiao. I searched several times but couldn't find his home. There was a street named Sheng where the Provincial Military Region Logistics Department lived. I couldn't find anything through old comrades.
recalled that during the more than 20 days of ice and snow during the Second Battle to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, I never left my life with my comrades for a moment. During the Battle of Gushui, there were four people in the class, and I swore an oath to him. When my feet were too cold to walk, he said: "You go down the mountain for treatment. After the war, I will come to the hospital to see you."
I said: "No, I will not leave you."
But the enemy came up , the platoon leader separated the two of us. I haven’t seen him since I was injured and went to the hospital.
The squad leader participated in the Huaihai Campaign, River Crossing Campaign, Shanghai Campaign. Could it be that he went to another hospital? There are very few people who can come back alive from the battlefield. The enemy's artillery fire is still very fierce. Could it be that he really...
"Squad leader, I have turned the corner. I can come back to you in a few days. This I won't be able to be with you for a while. Please forgive me, my good squad leader. I have been away from you for several months. Your image and influence are really unforgettable in my life. The soldiers in the revolutionary ranks are all the same. "Bitter Melon." I thought like this every day during my stay in hospital.
The squad leader is strict and caring to us, like a fellow countryman. He can make very good shoes, and whether he is training or marching, he always likes to wear his own shoes. The shoes look great, the soles are compact and the laces are beautiful. He sometimes makes them for comrades to wear, and they are very light and comfortable when walking without getting knotted. We also learned to do this whenever we had free time. He was smiling and affable all day long, just like a real brother.
Since entering the DPRK, during the march, the squad leader has carried guns, backpacks, and rice bags for the comrades every day. When we arrived at the campsite, everyone was very tired and fell asleep as soon as they lay down. They didn't want to eat, let alone wash their feet.The squad leader and deputy squad leader took off our shoes, boiled hot water, soaked our feet, and then helped the soldiers treat the blood blisters on their toes. He threaded a needle from bottom to top to drain the water and blood. Otherwise I won’t be able to walk and eat the next day. It doesn't matter if you don't eat, and you can't do it if you don't walk. This thing is very important, it's a big thing, and it must be done.
The squad leader does his or her job only after every comrade's feet have been prepared. Old comrades who have traveled a lot will not know how to get into trouble. It is easy for us young people to develop and get into trouble with . In the ice and snow, the squad leader helped the comrades up the mountain forward and backward, and tried every means to help the entire class keep warm.
I remember the night before approaching the enemy, two people from our class set up an outpost. The enemy was on the slope 40 meters away from the enemy. The squad leader and I squatted in the snow for less than half an hour. My whole body was shaking from the cold, my teeth were chattering, and my feet were so cold that I couldn't move. My smoking addiction is very strong, and I can take one or two puffs to fight the cold. I asked the monitor. The squad leader said I was too pitiful and allowed me to leave the sentry post in a 5-meter-deep depression, take two puffs of cigarette and then come back.
When he came back, Director Chen happened to check the whistle and asked where Ying Cheng had gone.
I came to him and said: I am here to report to the instructor.
He said: "It's none of your business.". He said a few words to the squad leader: "This is a battlefield. It is not allowed to allow soldiers to leave their posts. This is a battlefield. Remember." After saying that, he left.
The squad leader said, "You're okay."
Who knew that the troops gathered in the woods the next day. The company commander announced that Comrade Sheng Bingxiang violated discipline by allowing a soldier to leave his post, and gave Sheng Bingxiang a serious warning. I was shocked. It was obviously my fault. How should I deal with the monitor?
I said to the squad leader, who put his hand over my mouth and said, "You're okay."
The company commander also said, "You are a veteran. Don't you understand this as a squad leader? You will be subject to disciplinary action."
I listened. My hands were cold and I could hardly stand. I was so sad that I almost cried. It was my fault but I punished the squad leader. I regretted it so much. I will never forget this lesson in my life. I couldn't stop smoking for a while. I thought about it when I started smoking anyway, so I finally quit.
Later, when we moved to Gutushui, it snowed very hard. There were only four people in our class, the squad leader, me, Zhang Yongchun, and Zhang Baozhen. The squad leader said that we must fight to the end even if there is only one of us left. No matter what twists and turns and difficulties we have, we must persist in fighting to the end.
climbed a small hill, 10 meters away from the top of the mountain. At the foot of the mountain, we climbed to the top of the mountain hand in hand. We put some pine feathers and branches under the snow, and the squad leader and I put two quilts on top of each other. It was snowing non-stop, and it was impossible to sleep on the squad leader's side or on my side. Suddenly a thick layer of snow fell on the quilt.
"Monitor, my feet hurt too much." I said.
The squad leader untied his cotton-padded coat, took off my shoes, and put them in his belly to keep warm.
"Is it okay to be like this?"
I couldn't control it at this time, and tears flowed out. It was hot even if it wasn't hot.
With three whistles, the enemy broke out up the mountain.
"Comrades, prepare to fight, put on your shoes immediately." Went to the top of the mountain and welcomed the enemy up the mountain. Due to the small number of people and urgent tasks, the squad leader and I separated, but it became a farewell forever.
After returning to China, I went to the Nanxingqiao area many times to check, but I couldn't find my good monitor. News told me that the squad leader died shortly after I separated from him. There were also several comrades in the same class who had not heard from them. They should have sacrificed their lives.
Before, today, tomorrow or in the future, I feel sad when I think of them. As a living person, today, tomorrow and in the future, I will enjoy the shade under the big tree of happiness that you sacrificed for, my dear ones.
(Thirty-one) Transferred to the Corps
Give up two minds and let the Corps work for the revolution with peace of mind. This is the main ideological work of the leader when he transfers people to the Corps. At that time, I just wanted to demobilize and go home. My mother is old and sick, and my wife and four children are all in the countryside. The children are small, the eldest is only two years old, and the youngest is only three months old. They need to be taken care of. But the leader wanted to transfer me to the Huzhou Corps. I really couldn't figure it out. I struggled for several days, but the leader didn't do my job.They only sent someone to inform me that I must obey the order whether I die or not.
I didn’t want to go to the Corps. I was working at the Hangzhou Engine Factory at the time. There was no one to do my work and I was unhappy.
Because I always wanted to be demobilized and go home, I made several reports but got no response. It was really frustrating. There is no other way but to obey orders. It is said that at that time, my superiors had already planned to transfer me to the Logistics and Political Department as an officer. I was unwilling to go, so I was transferred back to the Corps.
left Hangzhou Engine Factory and returned to the place where the Huzhou Baique Division lived. I was in my dormitory, drinking alcohol behind closed doors. After two days of ideological struggle, I had to pick up my backpack and walk to the 3rd Division and 10th Regiment to in Changxing County ( Lijia Lane ).
I didn’t bring a letter of introduction either, thinking it would be best if I didn’t. Unexpectedly, the letter of introduction had already arrived at the Corps, and the regiment leader asked Comrade Liu Onan to entertain me. He was transferred by the regiment commander. I didn't know him, but he knew me.
He called me, "Equipment stock manager should be the stock manager."
"I don't care whether the stock manager is the stock manager or not." I paused in confusion.
Director Liu came to see me the next day. He was my leader and we discussed business matters. The equipment department has a heavy responsibility, including managing guns, ammunition, automobiles, repairs, warehouses, and oil depots; in agriculture, there are tractors, rakes, plows, and water pumps; in industry, there are mines, steel rolling mills, air compressors, and cement plants. crusher , and a repair shop and so on. There are six people in the
office, including Comrade Du Mingxuan, an ordnance assistant, two automotive assistants, a mining assistant, and two maintenance workers who work part-time as accountants, because we are all accounting units.
It doesn’t matter to me if I am good at hard work. I either don’t work or I have to work hard.
This is a regiment established by the 59th Division. Basically everyone recognizes me, and the regiment leader is even more familiar with me. I had no choice but to obey and work hard. No one was lifting the 240-liter gasoline drum , so I carried it myself. I work very well with my counterpart, my assistant is very capable, and everyone is very united. Due to my hard work, I was well received by my leaders.
The leader was very concerned and soon brought the whole family into the Corps. I was relieved of a big burden and worked more seriously. Then my wife also arranged a job, and my children were arranged to study. The three-year-old child was taken care of by a kindergarten. Although life was difficult, my life was very good.
What I like most is a car team, which I am directly in charge of. There are veteran pilots Xu Wenguan, Xie Songlin, Xu Guocheng, Xie Liexing, and Ni Huanlin, as well as three veteran pilots, Peng Wensheng, etc., as well as young soldiers in the Corps Wang Hualin, Xu Xu, Chen Siwei, Wu Zhengshun, and Zong Jian. Rong, and his right-hand assistants Du Mingxuan and Song Fuqing.
I am very happy to work with them, but I always feel sorry for them and don't care enough about them. They never blamed me. Unexpectedly, the Corps would be canceled later, which was a big blow to me. I was so resentful that I never went to see them, but they respected me very much.
Waiting for a job change was another turning point. In October 1978, I changed my job and returned to my hometown in Lanxi, . I worked as the director and deputy secretary of the city's non-staple food factory. Later, I was transferred to the grain bureau's automobile team. The captain seemed to have made some mistakes; it didn't take long. God told me to grow to meters again. Now I pushed Director Chen back and refused to go.
I have lived in the military camp for more than 30 years. I am not familiar with the local work and have unfamiliar personnel relations. I want to have a place to get paid, but now I don’t even have a nest. So I reported my resignation two years in advance. I just resigned. I didn't care about the salary I would get for two more years. I just wanted to be in a happy mood.
Postscript: According to Mr. Ying’s recollection, he probably returned to his hometown to work in 1978 and started writing his memoirs after work. After retirement, I will use my grandson's notebook to write. Two notebooks can be used to write a memoir, and they are stitched together with thread after writing. I write several times a day, one part at a time, and once I finish one book, I write it again. I originally planned to keep one copy for each family member as a souvenir.
Because of the Korean War , his feet were frostbitten and it is now inconvenient to walk. On rainy days, the old man's shoulder that was once penetrated by a bullet will hurt, and the pain will keep him awake all night. He and his wife, Grandma Chen (87 years old this year) live on the second floor. The old man rarely goes downstairs, and Grandma Chen is responsible for buying vegetables, cooking, laundry, etc.
The old man's daily life is very regular. After breakfast, he exercises in the corridor for an hour, then writes his memoirs for an hour, and then plays with his mobile phone. He mainly reads the headlines and then writes his memoirs. At noon, he simply eats a bowl of noodles, takes a rest, and then continues writing his memoirs. I stopped writing and played a bit of Solitaire poker; in the evening I had porridge, drank some old Shaoxing wine, and then rested and slept.
The old man insisted on writing his memoirs for at least three hours a day. He cried while writing, thinking of the squad leader's kindness to him, and of so many comrades freezing to death... He said that he escaped death four times and was so lucky.
The old man is a low-key person. The memoirs he wrote for so many years have never been released to the outside world. He felt that the war (the Korean War) was too terrible, and it was so tragic that so many people froze to death. He was worried that young people would not be willing to serve as soldiers after seeing it. He was not willing to make his memoirs public until his family told him that the Battle of Changjin Lake had been made into a movie.
The old man was injured in North Korea and was classified as a third-level disabled person in the hospital. However, the disability certificate was soaked while crossing the Han River and was thrown away when he encountered an enemy bomb on the shore. After returning to China, he went to Hangzhou Nanxingqiao to find Squad Leader Sheng, firstly to express his gratitude, and secondly to prove his injuries, but the squad leader was nowhere to be found, so he let it go.
The old man now enjoys the benefits of retired cadres. He is in good health, his children are filial, and his grandchildren are promising. I wish the old man a long and healthy life.
is finished.
Thank you for reading.
My war years (1)————-Bitter child
My war years (2)——-War in Shanghai
My war years (3) (4) (5)
My war years (6) (7) (8)
My War Years (9) (10) (11) (12)
