In the early morning of March 5, 1965, Vice President Chen Cheng passed away at the Taipei Air Force General Hospital, and the news shook the whole of Taiwan. As an important figure in the Kuomintang, Chen Cheng had a tremendous impact on China's modern history. Under Chiang Kai-shek's regime, it was often said that "without Chen Cheng, there would be no Chiang Kai-shek". Chen Cheng's death attracted the attention of Chiang Kai-shek, who personally came to pay his respects and set up a funeral committee. According to the highest specifications of the Kuomintang, Chen Cheng's funeral was very solemn and lively. Zhang Qun, He Yingqin and other five veterans supervised the whole process, nearly 100 general-level officers attended, and more than 100,000 people came to pay their respects. However, when Chen Cheng was buried, Chen's wife's face suddenly changed drastically.
It turned out that Chen Cheng specially instructed him to be cremated before he died. What is the difference between cremation and burial?What are the reasons why Chen's wife is frightened?In 1898, Chen Cheng was born into a wealthy landlord family in Tian County, Zhejiang. He had a privileged family and a good education. During his childhood, he studied Xi traditional scriptures and history, and was highly praised for his diligence. Academically, he was brilliant and intelligent. In 1917, Chen Cheng graduated from the Provincial Normal School. Like his peers, Chen Cheng did not stay in his hometown to work as a teacher at this time, but went to Peking to pursue his own career. During the period of the Beiyang regime, North China was in a state of weakness and weakness.
Chen Cheng lived in Peking for two years, but did not find his own direction of development. In 1919, under the influence of the May Fourth Movement, Chen Cheng decided to devote himself to the military. However, he had trouble applying for the exam. Due to his short stature, the examiner, Wei Zonghan, rejected his application. After learning of the situation, Chen Cheng showed the wisdom of the people of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. On the one hand, he used his connections to make connections with many people. On the other hand, he presents himself positively, showing enthusiasm and talent in interviews. In the end, he was successfully admitted to the famous Baoding Military Academy. In 1922, Chen Cheng graduated from the Baoding Military Academy. After two years of training, he became mature and talented.
At that time, he had already joined the Kuomintang. After living in Beiping for two years, he became disillusioned with Beiyang ** and foresaw the unsustainability of the warlords. So, in 1923, Chen Cheng followed Deng Yanda south to Guangdong and served as the deputy commander of the 3rd Regiment of the First Army of the Guangdong Army. On April 3, he was transferred to the head of the guard regiment of the Generalissimo's Palace, and won the approval of Mr. Sun Yat-sen. Chen Cheng was shot in the chest for bravely chasing down the warlord Shen Hongying, and Deng Yanda took a risk to rescue him, and he survived. In 1924, the Whampoa Military Academy was opened in Guangzhou, and Chiang Kai-shek learned that Chen Cheng was a fellow villager, so he became a confidant.
Chen Cheng served as an adjutant of education at the Whampoa Military Academy, showing the characteristics of shrewdness and ability, training cadets, training ordnance, commanding operations, and becoming more and more prestigious. In 1925, Chen Cheng became an artillery instructor and cultivated a group of backbones. In 1926, he led the 21st Division to carry out a central assault and defeated the main force of Sun Chuanfang's army in the Lanxi area, making great contributions. In 1928, Chen Cheng was promoted to commander-in-chief of the guard and began to expand his strength, forming an artillery regiment, a military police regiment and a guard regiment. He personally trained his soldiers, and his combat strength increased day by day. In 1931, he was promoted to commander of the 18th Army, and his status was the second-in-command of the Whampoa Department in the Kuomintang.
With his bravery and talent, Chen Cheng was quickly promoted from an ordinary captain to a prince, and was highly valued by Lao Jiang. Chen Cheng's loyalty to Chiang Kai-shek surpassed that of He Yingqin and others. In December 1931, under the mediation of Soong Meiling, Chen Cheng married Chiang Kai-shek's goddaughter Tan Xiang, and the wedding was held at the Peace Hotel. In 1932, Chen Cheng led his troops to encircle and suppress the Red Army in our Soviet area, although he was not a military genius, his command level was average, and he once lost his military power after two blows from our army, but under the protection of Chiang Kai-shek, he still maintained a high position.
At the end of 1934, Chen Cheng was appointed by Chiang Kai-shek as the deputy head of the Lushan Training Corps, and from then on he began to preside over military and political affairs and take the opportunity to recruit young talents. In 1936, Chen Cheng and Chiang Kai-shek were detained by Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng, and the Xi'an Incident was finally resolved peacefully, and the national anti-Japanese unified camp was established. After the Xi'an Incident, Chiang Kai-shek's mentality changed abruptly, although he was actively anti-Japanese on the surface, he secretly instructed Chen Cheng, He Yingqin and others to tighten control of the army. In February 1938, Chen Cheng served as the chairman of Hubei Province, with full responsibility for military affairs, and carried out a strong defense in the face of the Japanese army's westward offensive, organizing hundreds of thousands of ** responses.
After the end of the Anti-Japanese War, Lao Chiang intended to start a civil war, and after getting the approval of Chen Cheng, He Yingqin, Wei Lihuang and others, he wantonly invaded our liberated areas. In October 1947, Chen Chengcheng launched the "Autumn Offensive" with great heart, but his command made frequent mistakes, ** was defeated, and Chiang Kai-shek was furious. In just one year, 1.12 million people were wiped out, and Northeast China and North China were liberated by our people's army. After that, Chen Cheng resigned and apologized, but Chiang Kai-shek did not investigate deeply, and the Kuomintang was extremely dissatisfied with this. Graduated from Baoding Military Academy, founder of Whampoa Military Academy, and fellow villager in Zhejiang, Chen Cheng had an inseparable relationship with Chiang Kai-shek. During the Kuomintang regime, Chen Cheng was hailed as a model of cronyism.
In 1949, with the collapse of Chiang Kai-shek's regime and its flight to Taiwan, Chen Cheng was appointed chairman of Taiwan Province. He unified the whole of Taiwan with his outstanding administrative skills, which enabled Chiang Kai-shek** to operate normally. However, Chiang Kai-shek repeatedly raised the slogan of "** mainland", and Chen Cheng responded positively every time. However, to the discerning eye, this is nothing more than a beautiful fantasy. In 1964, China successfully tested its first atomic bomb, a news that shocked the world and disappointed Chiang Kai-shek and Chen Cheng. However, Chen Cheng did not wait for the time to return to his hometown. As a child of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, his attachment to his hometown has always lingered in his heart.
In 1965, Chen Cheng died of liver cancer, and before his death, he left a will hoping to be cremated and scatter his ashes back to his hometown. However, in the face of the instructions of the Taiwan authorities, the Chen family ultimately failed to do so, and Chen Cheng's ashes were buried. ** once commented that he is a patriot and has a firm stand against "Made in the United States". Although Chen Cheng's merits and demerits are doubtful in the historical evaluation, he stands with the people on the issue of defending China's sovereignty.