Since the August 1 Nanchang Uprising in 1927, the Communist Party of China has its own army. In the revolutionary struggle that followed for more than two decades, many of the earliest soldiers who joined the Red Army died in battle.
Only a small part of them survived to see the founding of New China. There are only a handful of people who can survive to this day. Feng Zigen, who is now 102 years old, is such an old Red Army who has witnessed the entire course of China's communist revolution.
Feng Zigen, formerly known as Zan Changlin, was born in Guangyuan, Sichuan Province in 1918. There are six brothers and sisters in the family, and Feng Zigen is the fifth in the family.
Because of the poverty of the family,Feng Zigen was like most boys at the time, before they are minors, they have to earn a living on their own. It is precisely because of this that the young Feng Zigen experienced the hardships and hardships of the lower class people at a very young age.
At the age of 15, Feng Zigen, who was born poor, was called by the revolution to join the Independent Regiment of the 93rd Division of the 31st Army of the Fourth Front Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and became a glorious Red Army soldier.
Soon after enlisting in the army,Feng Zigen caught up with the most difficult moment of the Red Army。At that time, the Red Army was "encircled and suppressed" by the Kuomintang in the Sichuan-Shaanxi region, and the situation of the revolutionary struggle was extremely difficult.
Soon after joining the army, Feng Zigen took part in the battles against the "three-way siege" in Bamiaoya, Nankanpo, Kongshanba, Wangcangba, and other places.
But even so, everyone still fought bravely, because the revolutionary faith sustained every Red Army soldier. After only one year of enlistment, Feng Zigen followed the army to participate in many battles such as Xuanhan, Daxian, Guangyuan, Cangxi, Langzhong, Bazhong, Wanyuan, Nanjiang, and Yilong.
After only one year in the army, Feng Zigen was already an old Red Army with rich combat experience. Later, the Red Army began to attack northern SichuanIn one battle, Feng Zigen was wounded by a gunshot and retreated to the base hospital.
After recovering from his injuries, the old troops had been transferred, so under the arrangement of the organization, Feng Zigen was assigned to the 7th Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 75th Regiment of the 25th Division of the 9th Army of the Red Fourth Front Army as a guard.
Not long after, Feng Zigen was transferred to the 8th Company of the 264th Regiment of the 93rd Division of the 31st Army as a squad leader because of his relatively rich combat experience, and filled the team as the backbone force.
In 1934, the Red Army lost the fifth struggle against "encirclement and suppression" and was forced to go on a long march. Zhang Guotao took the opportunity to set up another **. Without the consent of the **, he acted on his own, and pulled the troops to abandon the Sichuan-Shaanxi base area.
At this point, Feng Zigen followed the troops to leave his hometown. The Red Fourth Front Army, which had left the Sichuan-Shaanxi base area, fought extremely hard, and the situation did not improve until July 1936, when the Red Fourth Front Army joined forces with the Red Second Front Army in Ganzi.
Because of the participation of the leaders of the Red Second Front Army, it was difficult for Zhang Guotao to handle the strategic decisions of the Red Fourth Front Army independently. Under the urging of **, Zhang Guotao finally agreed to go north with the Red Second Front Army.
But for an ordinary fighter like Feng Zigen,Heading north meant having to climb snowy mountains and cross meadows for the third time。Every time I climbed the snowy mountains and crossed the meadows, it was dangerous, and many Red Army soldiers fell on the snowy mountains.
There are countless Red Army soldiers who fell on the snowy mountains because of the high cold, lack of oxygen, and hunger, and even if they were lucky enough to come from the snowy mountains, they were all dead.
And Feng Zigen also left a serious eye disease after climbing the snow-capped mountain with the army. Compared with the cold snow-capped mountains, the endless meadows are the most deadly.
Feng Zigen recalled the scene when he was on the grassland: "The grassland is more than 600 kilometers long, and it takes seven or eight days to walk out at the earliest. ”
Many Red Army soldiers starved to death in the grassland because they had no food, and Feng Zigen's company alone was reduced from more than 170 people to more than 30 when they crossed the grassland.
I just walked out of the meadow, and I haven't taken a moment to restFeng Zigen fought a tough battle with his troops at the dangerous Lazikou。In this battle, one of Hu Zongnan's regiments was completely annihilated, and the Red Army also paid a tragic price.
After three months of arduous trekking, Feng Zigen finally arrived in northern Shaanxi with the Red Fourth Front Army. The Long March finally ended, and when he arrived in northern Shaanxi, Feng Zigen was already as thin as firewood, but it was a blessing to be able to survive.
After arriving in northern Shaanxi, the troops finally had a chance to rest and recuperate, and Feng Zigen's physical condition gradually recovered. But it didn't take long for an even more brutal battle to begin.
July 7, 1937Japanese imperialism launched an all-out war of aggression against China。The Kuomintang and the Communist Party finally reached an anti-Japanese united front at this critical juncture for the survival of the whole nation.
On August 22, 1937, the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army was renamed the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army. The 93rd Division of the 31st Army of the Red Fourth Front Army, where Feng Zigen was located, was also reorganized into the 772nd Regiment of the 386th Brigade of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army.
On September 6, 1937, the 129th Division braved the rain to hold an anti-Japanese pledge meeting in Shiqiao Town, Fuping County, Shaanxi.
On October 26, 1937, the 772nd Regiment of the 386th Brigade of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army was ordered to set up an ambush in Qiqian Village, south of Niangzi Pass. Feng Zigen and his comrades-in-arms ushered in their first battle with the Japanese after going north.
When the Japanese army entered the ambush circle set by the Eighth Route ArmyAll the fighters unleashed the anger they had been holding back for a long time at this moment。The hatred of the country and the family is full of everyone's heart, and everyone is not afraid of life and death.
In the end, the Eighth Route Army ushered in the first victory of the anti-Japanese army in the north in Qiqian Village, and completely annihilated more than 400 Japanese invaders. This battle defeated the arrogance of the Japanese army and also played the prestige of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army. As a soldier of the 129th Division, Feng Zigen couldn't be more proud.
After the end of the battle in the village of Qigan,The 129th Division then launched an ambush on the Japanese at the bottom of the Yellow Cliff. The Japanese army never expected that the Eighth Route Army, which had just won the battle in Qiqian Village, would repeat its old tricks and set up an ambush circle on the hill on the left side of the Yellow Cliff.
At that time, Feng Zigen was ordered to set up an ambush in Huangyadi Village. "Defeat is irreversible" is common sense that everyone understands, and Feng Zigen in the ambush circle has no bottom in his heart.
But it was such an unexpected ambush battle, which once again caught the enemy by surprise. This time, the 772nd Regiment annihilated about 300 enemy troops, and the morale of the entire 772nd Regiment undoubtedly reached the extreme.
And just five days laterThe 772nd Regiment once again took advantage of the great victory to set up an ambush in Guangyangdealt a heavy blow to the baggage troops of the 20th Division of the Japanese Army, destroying more than 250 enemies. After this battle, Feng Zigen was also honorably wounded.
During the period of recuperation in the rear, as long as there is a chance, Feng Zigen will tell the story of participating in these three battles. Because of the successive victories of 772, it has become a heroic regiment that shocks the whole army. Everyone was proud to be able to fight in the 772nd Regiment.
After recuperating in the rear for half a year, Feng Zigen was transferred from northern Shaanxi to the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army in Hongdong. Here, Feng Zigen's task is to be the leader of the guard squad for the commander-in-chief.
During this time,** The commander-in-chief is codenamed "Tongxin".Under the protection of Feng Zigen and others, he was diverted to Xi'an through Yangcheng, Yuanqu, and Luoyang, and finally arrived in Yan'an to participate in the military conference. After the meeting, ** quietly returned to the "general assembly" under the protection of Feng Zigen and others.
In 1940, Feng Zigen was sent to study at the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University as the backbone of the company. After two years, Feng Zigen has greatly improved his political literacy and military technology.
After graduating from Kang University,Feng Zigen was promoted to commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 55th Regiment, led about 700 soldiers of the Eighth Route Army to launch an armed struggle against the enemy in the Taiyue No. 1 Division.
Later, he went to the Second Division of the Taiyue Military Region to serve as an instructor of the divisional armed arts team. Under the leadership of Feng Zigen, more than 100 soldiers of the Wugong Brigade operated in Jin (Chengbei), Changzi, Gaoping, Shimin (now Qinshui) and other places, causing great losses to the Japanese army.
Later, in the winter of 1944, Feng Zigen was wounded when leading the military engineering team to attack the Japanese stronghold in Gaoping County.
After the end of the Anti-Japanese War, Feng Zigen decided to settle down in Xinglin Village. At that time, many of the Eighth Route Army were like this, because their hometown was under the control of the Kuomintang, and there were thousands of miles away.
The soldiers of the Eighth Route Army, who had no hope of returning home, often chose to spend the rest of their lives in places where they fought all year round. In the Eighth Route Army, most of the wounded and sick soldiers who were discharged from the army would stay to take care of these lonely old peopleThis seems to have become a tradition in the troops of the Eighth Route Army at that time
Because of years of birth and death, each other has already become a family. Qinshui is the place where Feng Zigen fought when he was the captain of the martial arts team, and he naturally has a special feeling for Feng Zigen in Qinshui.
In Xinglin Village in Qinshui, there is an old man surnamed Feng, whose son was killed by the Japanese army for participating in the anti-Japanese war. After returning to Xinglin Village, Feng Zigen took the initiative to take care of the elderly after hearing about it.
Every day, Feng Zigen helps the old man carry water and chop wood. Later, the old man simply recognized Feng Zigen as his godson, so there was the matter of Zan Changlin changing his name to Feng Zigen.
For many years to come, Feng Zigen took care of the elderly as the son of the old man surnamed Feng, and sent them to the end of his life. Feng Zigen introduced that in the Qinshui area, there were many elderly people who died because of their children's anti-Japanese war and became lonely and widowed.
After settling down in Xinglin Village, although Feng Zigen is no longer in the army, he still treats himself as a soldier.
Whether it is in the neighborhood or alley, in people's impressions,Feng Zigen has always looked like a soldier, no matter how you go, you will maintain the demeanor of a soldier. During the Liberation War, Feng Zigen served as the head of the armed forces department in Xinglin Village.
As long as he is free, Feng Zigen will tell the children in the village the story of his military service, and at the same time cooperate with the local party committee to publicize the party's policies. In the blink of an eye, Feng Zigen has been in Xinglin Village for more than 70 years.
In Feng Zigen's home, a yellowed discharge certificate was carefully treasured by the old man Feng Zigen. On this discharge certificate, it is written: "After investigation, Comrade Zan Changlin is a native of Guangyuan County, Sichuan Province......”
The signatures of Commander Wang Jinshan and Political Commissar Liu Zhong are written on the check-off desk. The time is "February 26, the 35th year of China ** (1946)".
For Feng Zigen, this yellowed discharge certificate carries an unforgettable period of eventful years. What it bears witness is the glory of an old Red Army who has been in the army for more than ten years.
In his later years, Feng Zigen often sat in his yard, years of conquest have left many wounds on the old man Feng Zigen's body.
Old man Feng Zigen's eyes suffered from cataracts due to the reflex of the snow mountain when he was climbing the snow mountain, and his left eye was almost blind.
On his left palm, right femur, and right calf, he still has the same injuries from the battle. The most serious thing is a piece of shrapnel on his right calf, which has not been taken out so far, and the old man Feng Zigen left the army because of the disability caused by this shrapnel.
But even though he was covered with injuries, Feng Zigen was extremely proud when he talked about his injuries, which were all proof of being an old revolutionary.
In October 1996, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the victory of the Red Army's Long March, Feng Zigen participated in the Shanxi Provincial Red Army Forum as a representative of the old Red Army. After the meeting, Feng Zigen donated the pistol left to him by the army as a memorial when he was discharged from the army that year.
As a veteran of the Red Army, Feng Zigen was received by party and state leaders many times in his later years. At the 2005 meeting to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, Feng Zigen was invited to sit on the rostrum with the then national leaders and take a group photo.
After the conference, Feng Zigen was accompanied by his familyI was thrilled to see the pistol I donated to the museum at the National Museum of China. Today, this pistol, which carries a glorious past, is still admired by countless people every day.
In 2015, on the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Feng Zigen received a "Medal for the 70th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japan" issued to him by the state.
As one of the few surviving old Red Armymen, people often come to visit the elderly. Sometimes the old man didn't want to disturb, so he left the gift of visiting the old man in front of the door and left in a hurry.
When someone asked what other wishes the old man Feng Zigen had, the old man Feng Zigen said the most was that he wanted to go back to his hometown in Yan'an and Sichuan. But the old man, who is over 100 years old, can't withstand the bumps of such a round-trip journey.
Since 2015,The state has raised the subsidy for the old Red Army and anti-Japanese veterans。The living allowance and disability allowance issued by the state to Feng Zigen every year add up to about 80,000 yuan, and his life in his later years is carefree and financially secure.
I hope that the old man can live forever, because there are very few old Red Army soldiers like the old man who is like a "national treasure". Today's prosperity is precisely the old Red Army like Feng Zigen, the old revolutionaries who bought it with their lives and blood.