In 1931, Japan bombarded Shenyang under the pretext of two missing soldiers, triggering the long-planned "918 Incident". This incident caused the Northeast to fall, and Heilongjiang was in danger. However, at this critical juncture, a young man from Northeast China named Ma Zhanshan stepped forward and vowed to defend the motherland and become the vanguard of the anti-Japanese resistance. His bravery and fearlessness inspired the hearts of the people of the whole country and ignited the flame of hope for national rejuvenation.
Ma Zhanshan was born in 1885 into an ordinary Manchu peasant family to uneducated parents. His name "Ma Zhanshan" exudes a bandit atmosphere. From the age of 7, he herded horses for the families of large local landowners to subsidize the family. In his long-term life as a horse herder, Ma Zhanshan has cultivated excellent riding skills. At that time, the social conditions were difficult, and Ma Zhanshan, like most ordinary people, lived a life of poverty.
In 1903, a small accident changed Ma Zhanshan's fate. At the age of 18, he accidentally lost one of the landlord's horses, which caused the landlord's wrath. The landlord beat Ma Zhanshan mercilessly and falsely accused him of being a horse thief. Due to his poor family, Ma Zhanshan was unable to compensate and could not cope with the lawsuit. Under the oppression of the government and landlords, Ma Zhanshan chose to defect to the mountains and forests, formed his own bandit gang, and thus embarked on a road of no return.
In 1904, the Russo-Japanese War broke out, and the Tohoku region was embroiled in war, and the local residents suffered greatly. In 1905, Ma Zhanshan led his subordinates to surrender to the government and accepted Zhao'an. In just 3 years, he changed from a wrangler in the landlord's family to a bandit leader, and then became an official and soldier again, and his fate was unpredictable.
After the success of the Xinhai Revolution in 1911, the Northeast region was in turmoil. Ma Zhanshan chose to follow the Feng warlord Wu Junsheng and participate in the warlord melee. With his excellent riding and archery skills and decisive character, he gradually rose through the ranks under Wu Junsheng. After experiencing the Zhifeng Civil War, by 1925, Ma Zhanshan had become the commander of the 5th Brigade of the 17th Division of the Northeast Army, rising step by step.
In 1931, Japan launched the "September 18 Incident", and a war of aggression broke out in an all-round way. Zhang Xueliang asked Ma Zhanshan to be the chairman and military commander of Heilongjiang Province, hoping that he would organize an effective resistance. Ma Zhanshan accepted the task without hesitation and shouted a decisive battle with the Japanese.
However, at that time, the main battle faction was still at a disadvantage, and many Northeast ** advised Ma Zhanshan not to be hostile to Japan. But he did not waver, and on October 22 issued a statement saying that he would fight to the death.
In November, the Japanese army attacked Qiqihar, the capital of Heilongjiang Province, and Ma Zhanshan personally led his troops to hold the Nenjiang Bridge to block the Japanese army. He vowed to cut off his head as long as he defeated the Japanese army and sacrifice it to the country. Encouraged by this, the soldiers vowed to live and die with their commander.
On November 4, the Japanese army launched a fierce attack, Ma Zhanshan and his subordinates resisted stubbornly for 6 days, but they were intensively bombarded by the Japanese heavy artillery, and the team was heavy, so they had to order a retreat.
In December 1931, Seishiro Sakagaki, chief of staff of the Japanese army, personally came to Helen to lure him to surrender. In the face of the temptation and threat of the Japanese side, Ma Zhanshan had no choice but to compromise, claiming that he had "no hostility to the Japanese army."
In January 1932, the Japanese army occupied Shanghai, and the situation of Tsushima Zhanshan was even worse. After much deliberation, he decided to resort to a "fake surrender" approach. His henchman Xie Ke had repeatedly dissuaded him from truly surrendering, but Ma Zhanshan firmly believed that only a false surrender could preserve his strength in the face of the disparity between the enemy and us.
In February 1932, Ma Zhanshan attended the founding ceremony of the puppet state of Manchukuo. The Japanese made a big splash, portraying him as one of the "Four Founding Fathers" and an example of national surrender. However, in fact, Ma Zhanshan's surrender was only a superficial article, and he secretly accumulated strength behind his back to prepare**. He used the power and resources in his hands to secretly transfer military supplies to various places, and even quietly sent his family out of the northeast to prevent the Japanese army from looking for trouble.
In April, Ma Zhanshan suddenly returned to Heilongjiang and reorganized the anti-Japanese armed forces. He issued a telegram announcing himself as the commander-in-chief of the anti-Japanese resistance, which was echoed by many patriots. In May, he planned to attack Harbin, but due to the traitorous rebellion, he was discovered by the Japanese army and had to retreat.
Subsequently, Ma Zhanshan continued to engage in skirmishes with the Japanese in the Heilongjiang area. Despite the difficult anti-Japanese situation, Ma Zhanshan never gave up resistance, and returned to Heilongjiang after more than 50 days of fighting with the Japanese army. Through this "fake surrender", Ma Zhanshan successfully turned the danger into a disaster and continued to burn a bright light for the anti-Japanese cause in Northeast China.
Ma Zhanshan soon became the first hero of China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and his deeds were praised throughout the country. Shanghai even launched "Ma Zhanshan" cigarettes as a commemoration. However, there is also an interesting anecdote between it and ***.
In 1936, after the Xi'an Incident, Ma Zhanshan was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Anti-Japanese Aid Sui Cavalry Group Army. He was honored by this important task. During the Xi'an Incident, he was mistakenly arrested by Yang Hucheng's troops, but after learning that it was Ma Zhanshan, Yang Hucheng immediately released him and treated him politely. Ma Zhanshan understood that the incident was to force Chiang Kai-shek to resist the Japanese, and he agreed. The War of Resistance is the top priority.
In May 1938, Ma Zhanshan led his troops to northern Shaanxi to carry out anti-Japanese activities. Here, he received many times of support from the Yan'an Communist Party, for which he was grateful. In August, Ma Zhanshan decided to take the opportunity of passing by Yan'an to visit Chairman *** and express his gratitude in person.
When Ma Zhanshan traveled to the straw shop 50 kilometers from Yan'an, an accident happened. His pistol accidentally misfired, resulting in a finger injury. Yan'an immediately dispatched a medical team for emergency treatment and sent him to Yan'an Hospital. After learning of the situation, ** personally came to visit the hospital and promised to send the best doctor** Ma Zhanshan to ensure that the war would not be delayed.
During this time in the hospital, ** often came to visit and established a deep friendship with Ma Zhanshan. At noon one day, seeing that Ma Zhanshan was recovering well from his injuries, ** made a joke: "You will be a stain on me." "Originally, ** was worried that if Ma Zhanshan died in Yan'an, Chiang Kai-shek would slander the Communist Party. Ma Zhanshan laughed heartily after hearing this, saying that he would never be fine.
After Ma Zhanshan recovered from his injury, ** held a welcome ceremony for him in Yan'an, and Ma Zhanshan was moved by the warm scene. This simple but sincere friendship became a story between two great men. Years later, Ma Zhanshan often shared this memory with others, saying that he was most impressed by the simplicity and enthusiasm of Yan'an at that time.
In 1949, when the People's Republic of China was founded, Ma Zhanshan chose to settle in Beijing and was warmly welcomed. In 1950, ** personally invited him to attend the second session of the first session of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, but he was unable to attend the meeting due to illness, which became his regret. Soon after, Ma Zhanshan died of cancer in 1950 at the age of 65. Although the hero is gone, his heroic deeds will forever inspire generations of Chinese to forge ahead.