On May 1, 1940, Zhang Zizhong personally wrote to the generals of the army: "The country has reached such a point that we have no other choice but to die for it. As long as we can stick to this determination, our country and our five thousand years of history will be saved." Our nation will never perish at the hands of a mere three-island slave!”
Half a month later, Zhang Zizhong, who was determined to fight the war, died heroically for his country. When his body was transported back to the rear, it was found that there were eight wounds on his body, including five bullet wounds, two shell wounds, and one bayonet wound!
People can’t help but sigh, what happened on the day of his death?
1. Misunderstanding after signing a secret contract
During Zhang Zizhong’s 49-year career, he was the highest-ranking general of the Chinese army who died in the War of Resistance, and he was also a hero of the War of Resistance unanimously recognized by the Kuomintang and the Communist Party!
He once personally wrote a letter telling his subordinates: "Determined to die for the country and the nation, the sea is clear and the stone is not broken."
On July 7, 1937, the Japanese army launched the Marco Polo Bridge Incident that shocked China and the world on the pretext of losing a soldier. At the beginning of the war, because the Japanese army had planned it for a long time, the national army was caught off guard, resulting in successive defeats. .
html On July 20, Zhang Zizhong signed a secret agreement with the Japanese garrison commander "Hyangyue Seiji ", which is known in history as "Hyangyue Details".
There are five aspects in detail: 1. The national army apologized to the Japanese army; 2. The national army withdrew from Peking ; 3. Punished and dismissed anti-Japanese personnel; 4. Withdrawal of anti-Japanese organizations and personnel from Jicha territory; 5. Ban date-related propaganda.
At that time, Zhang Zizhong's way of "trying to resolve the war peacefully" was mistaken for a "traitor".
However, "Xiang Yue Detail" did not become a reality. Zhang Zizhong's "name as a traitor" became a laughing stock, which put Zhang Zizhong under tremendous psychological pressure. Only by serving the country and fulfilling his duties can he prove his "loyalty". The original intention of serving the country!
After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, Zhang Zizhong successively served as commander of the 59th Army, commander-in-chief of the 33rd Group Army, and commander-in-chief of the right-wing corps of the fifth theater.
During the Anti-Japanese War, he fought in the first battle of Feishui, the second battle of Linyi, and the third battle of Xuzhou. He was invincible and invincible. In the Battle of Taierzhuang, when the national army was in danger, he led the 59th Army to The reinforcements bought valuable time for 's great victory in Taierzhuang!
In June 1939, the Kuomintang mobilized more than a hundred divisions to launch a large-scale attack on the Japanese army, the " Winter Offensive", forcing the Japanese army to be in a "battle" state. The Thirty-eighth Division led by Zhang Zizhong was also among the troops of the Hundred Division. Excellently completed the arduous task of "annihilating the 103rd Brigade of the 13th Division of the Japanese Army"!
In May 1940, the Chinese and Japanese armies launched the largest confrontation since the Japanese invasion of China in the northern Hubei region in the hinterland of the Central Plains, namely the Suizao Battle. In this battle, the Japanese army tried to control the Yangtze River and cut off China's internal Land transportation, assembled an army of 300,000, launched the "Zaoyi Battle" in Yichang, attempting to encroach on the land of China like a whale.
2. Serving the country and sacrificing his life to fight for the army. In order to block the enemy's attack, Zhang Zizhong led a vanguard force of 1,500 people, trying to cross the Xianghe River eastward to cut off the enemy's food and grass supplies, and strangle the Japanese army in the cradle of the attack.
A week later, Zhang Zizhong's troops, who initially waited for an opportunity to ambush the Japanese army, were surrounded by 6,000 Japanese troops. A fierce battle broke out between the two sides in Gouyanli Village north of Yichang Pumpkin Store. The battle lasted for a day and night.
Under the cover of strong firepower, the Japanese army launched a total of nine attacks, but each time they were repulsed by the Chinese army. From the early morning to noon of May 15, General Zhang Zizhong, who was shot in the left arm, still stood at the front of the battle line, commanding the disabled. and surviving soldiers resisted the Japanese attack.
By two o'clock in the afternoon, the battle became more and more fierce. Zhang Zizhong only had hundreds of subordinates left, and only 8 followers were left by his side.
After an hour of fierce fighting, the Japanese army rushed into the national army camp at three o'clock. Amidst the hail of bullets, Zhang Zizhong was hit by several bullets and his right chest was penetrated by bullets. However, he still refused to fall due to his tenacious perseverance!
When the Japanese army was cleaning the battlefield, they were surprised to find that the long-defeated Chinese army only had more than a thousand people. They were very curious about who the commander of this army was, and began to look for objects that could prove their identity.
After a careful inventory, they found a suitcase under a ruin and the body of a tall and burly man not far away. When they saw "golden branches and leaves and two gold stars" on his shoulders, and from his When a gold Parker pen with the general's name was found in his arms, the Japanese army was surprised to find that they had actually killed National Army Lieutenant General Zhang Zizhong.
When the Japanese troops present learned of this situation, they immediately took a few steps back. When the Japanese army recorded the scene of Zhang Zizhong’s sacrifice, they described it like this:
“First-class soldier Fujioka of the fourth team of the Japanese army rushed forward first. Suddenly, he stood up in a pool of blood. The majestic gaze of a burly officer made Fujioka stop immediately and froze there in shock. The leader of the 3rd Squadron, Dono, who rushed behind, immediately fired, and the bullet hit the officer's head, but he was stunned. Still not falling. Fujioka, who woke up, picked up the bayonet and stabbed with all his strength. The tall body of the officer finally fell to the ground. "
The Japanese army even issued a "Death of a General" over the radio. The report recorded the admirable performance of General Zhang Zizhong!
This report quickly reached the ears of Zhang Zizhong’s wife, Li Minhui, making this woman who had just turned fifty years old grief-stricken.
Li Minhui married Zhang Zizhong when she was 17 years old. After that, they became affectionate for many years. Although she never went to school, she was very virtuous and could be called a good wife.
In grief, Li Minhui said with tears in her eyes: "I am not sad that Zhang Zizhong died on the battlefield for the country. Although I am a woman, I should have a share." Not long after, she entrusted her family to Zhang Zizhong’s younger brother, and she went on a hunger strike for seven days and died!
Although the Suizao War was won, China lost General Zhang Zizhong forever. Premier Zhou commented on him: "His loyalty and heroism can be the soul of our country's anti-Japanese war soldiers!"
3. It's settled. After the coffin had to be closed,
General Zhang Zizhong died. Huang Weigang, who succeeded the commander of the 59th Army, started a battle with the Japanese army and regained the body of Zhang Zizhong, which fell into the hands of the enemy, at the cost of more than 200 people.
On May 23 of the same year, eight days after Zhang Zizhong died for his country, his coffin was escorted by 100,000 people, was put on a ship in Yichang and transported to Chongqing. On August 15, Yan'an more than 10,000 people from all walks of life held a grand ceremony for Zhang Zizhong At the memorial meeting, Chairman Mao, Premier Zhou, and Zhu De respectively inscribed "Serve the country with devotion," "Sacrifice one's life for the country," and "Purpose righteousness into benevolence"!
On November 16, 1940, Zhang Zizhong was posthumously promoted to general by the Kuomintang government and was buried in Yuhuatai, Chongqing with a state funeral. Buried with his wife Li Minhui who died with him.
Shortly thereafter, the mountain was renamed Meihua Mountain because Feng Yuxiang planted plum blossoms next to the tomb, symbolizing Zhang Zizhong's "unyielding cold" loyalty to serve the country.
The next year, the National Government built the "Admiral Zhang Zizhong Martyred the Country" monument at the place where Zhang Zizhong died. And two years later, Yicheng County was renamed Zhongxian County for future generations to respect and commemorate General Zhang Zizhong. Great achievements.
Zhang Zizhong and his wife Li Minhui originally had three sons and one daughter. The second son, Zhang Lianjing, died of typhoid fever in 1934 long before his father died. He was only 17 years old.
After the death of his parents, the Zhang family still had two sons and one daughter. The eldest son Zhang Lianzhen died of illness in 1968. The third son Zhang Weiguo served as an engineer for Tianjin Fuel Company after the founding of New China.
The daughter Zhang Lianyun is the most accomplished among her children. She graduated from the Department of Journalism of Fudan University in 1948 and later served as the vice principal of Beijing Middle School and other public positions.
She once said in an interview: " I deeply regret that I will not be able to see my father for the last time in Hubei."
On April 25, 2022, his daughter Zhang Lianyun died of illness in Beijing at the age of 99.
No matter how the times changed, none of the children of the Zhang family went abroad. They inherited their father's patriotic legacy, displayed the tenacious spirit of "resilient despite hardships and endured the winds of east, west, north and south" and spread their branches on the land of China. Loose leaves.
The descendants of the Zhang family that people can know today include Zhang Lianzhen's seven sons, namely Zhang Qingyi, Zhang Qing'an, Zhang Qinglong, Zhang Jizu, Zhang Qingfan, Zhang Qingcheng and Zhang Qingxin, as well as Zhang Lianyun's two sons, Che Qing and Che Lin. .
Although none of Zhang Zizhong’s children have immigrated abroad, among his grandchildren, three of Zhang Lianzhen’s children alone have settled in the United States. Two of the remaining four live in Shanghai, and the other two are in Chengdu and Nanjing.
4. The descendants of a good family tradition are born
As the son of Zhang Zizhong, although Zhang Lianzhen died early, his son was an outstanding one. Because of the good family tradition and the reputation of his grandfather, future generations will take Zhang Zizhong as an example. .
Each of Zhang Lianzhen's seven sons has his own career. The eldest, Zhang Qingyi, serves in the Tianjin Economic Development Commission;
, the second son, Zhang Qing'an, works at the Shanghai Electric Power Engineering Research Institute and is a scientific researcher;
, the third son, Zhang Qinglong, and the fifth son, Zhang Qingfanjun, He is a tenured professor at an American university;
The fourth child, Zhang Jizu, opened a large supermarket with a considerable income, and often supported the lives of some veterans;
The sixth child, Zhang Qingcheng, entered the official career and served as the deputy director of the Sichuan Provincial Revolutionary Committee;
The seventh child, Zhang Qingxinhe Like the fourth child, he is also in business, but his business is bigger. He runs a hotel and has an income of tens of millions every year.
Zhang Zizhong’s grandsons are all of the “Qing” generation, but the fourth grandson, Zhang Jizu, did not inherit the seniority. The reason is that he was born in 1940, shortly after Zhang Zizhong died for his country. The Zhang family hopes that future generations can commemorate their grandfather. So he named him Zhang Jizu.
Among the seven brothers of the grandchildren, the eldest and sixth brother entered the official career, the second brother was engaged in scientific research, the third and fifth brothers became tenured professors at American universities, and the fourth and seventh brothers became bosses. When interviewed by reporters, the descendants of the Zhang family Proudly said: "We did not embarrass our grandfather"!
In addition to his grandchildren, Zhang Zizhong’s grandsons, namely Zhang Lianyun’s two sons, are also accomplished technical talents. The eldest grandson Che Qing works at Communication University of China as the director of the Scientific Research Department; the younger grandson Che Lin works at CCTV Served as the director of the Technical Production Center.
To this day, people can still learn that Zhang Zizhong’s descendants are his great-grandsons Zhang Lei and Zhang Congyue. In 1988, Zhang Lei went to settle in the United States until he returned to China in 2008 to serve as the director of a foreign company.
According to Zhang Lei’s own claim, during his twenty years in the United States, he became a “nationalist”. When he saw the Japanese Prime Minister visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, he would bang the table in protest.
's great-grandson Zhang Congyue founded two websites named "Zhang Zizhong" to remember his grandfather's merits. Zhang Congyue believes that this is an attitude.
Zhang Lei said in an interview with reporters:
"We commemorate Zhang Zizhong not to show off our ancestors, but to show our attitude as descendants of the Chinese nation and let certain Japanese politicians who are unwilling to admit their mistakes know that we We will never forget history, and we will not let history repeat itself!"
On May 16, 2015, on the 75th anniversary of the death of General Zhang Zizhong, nearly 20,000 people came spontaneously. Zhang Qing'an, Zhang Zizhong's second grandson, said: "The government Neither the generals nor the common people have forgotten my grandfather, and we should not forget it. We hope that future generations can pass on the spirit of our grandfather."
Zhang Zizhong’s descendants have proved with their strength that they have lived up to the expectations of their elders, inherited their ancestors’ legacy of serving the country, and have become talents in promoting national development in all walks of life. This is inseparable from the Zhang family’s family tradition and persuasive family education. Open a relationship.
If General Zhang Zizhong knew what he was doing, he would surely be happy to see the descendants of the Zhang family flourishing now!
Reference materials:
【1】Zhang Zizhong: He died fighting hard and worthy of his nation. Stung by a bayonet People's Daily Online
