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General Zeng Mei, the founding major general of the People's Republic of China, is one of the few remaining witnesses of the Zunyi Conference after entering the 21st century.
As time went on, he became the only witness and witness, and because he was over 100 years old, he was also called the "100-year-old general".
His children once recalled that in the last days of the old man's life, he used to whisper in his hospital bed.
He asked, "Are our people safe?" The children reassured him that they were all safe, and then he said that together with the soldiers, he had eliminated a dozen devils.
When the old man was still tough, he said that in 1943, he had buried 15 Japanese soldiers alive.
The comrades-in-arms on the side stopped him, saying that this was a violation of military discipline, and he insisted on burying it.
As a result, not only was he not punished, but he was also praised by the leading comrades.
So, what was the specific situation back then, and what difficulties did General Zeng experience?
Avoid sacrifices
The incident of burying more than a dozen Japanese soldiers alive occurred when he was the commander of the Eighth Route Army and participated in guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines.
Previously, he entered the "Kang Da" to study, and after graduation, he was assigned to the Shanxi-Hebei region to carry out combat work, and also participated in the "Hundred Regiment Battle" commanded by Peng Lao.
Therefore, he had a certain amount of experience in dealing with the Japanese army, and he also knew the enemy's marching habits.
In the month of 1943, he led his troops to operate near the Hutuo River, and the Japanese army was very arrogant, and after being frustrated, they moved to a terrain that was easy to defend and difficult to attack.
But this could not stop the attack of General Zeng and his soldiers, and soon, under the fierce offensive, many of the Japanese troops who were cowering in the bunkers were wiped out.
They took the stronghold, and they also received abundant supplies, and the results were very rich.
While everyone was happy to celebrate, General Zeng did not relax his vigilance, because he knew that the Japanese army was the best at "returning to the horse pistol."
If they have suffered a defeat, they will surely come back with revenge, and they will fight more viciously than before.
In the early days, the soldiers finally won a battle against the Japanese army, because they did not know that they would wait for an opportunity to retaliate.
Everyone began to hold a celebration party, and the enemy chose this time of the lowest vigilance, causing very heavy losses.
Since then, all the base areas behind enemy lines throughout the country are not allowed to celebrate immediately after winning battles, and they have to hurry up their return to the camps to check the situation and prevent the enemy from making a comeback.
General Zeng led everyone to victory, and the soldiers began to discuss the preparation of the celebration party while being cautious and vigilant.
At that time, the general asked everyone to go back to the camp to rest first, he stepped up patrols, and the celebration party was slightly postponed.
However, this time the Japanese army's retaliation did not come quickly, and they pretended to go back to rest the army according to their patience.
As a result, the commendation meeting was held in the camp as originally planned, and at that time, General Zeng never let down his vigilance.
As expected, on the night of the commendation meeting, the Japanese sent a small detachment of more than 30 people to sneak through the darkness, trying to find an opportunity to launch a surprise attack.
One of the soldiers in charge of reconnaissance ran over and reported to him.
The fighters found themselves in a dense forest not far from the camp, where they found traces of Japanese troops.
General Zeng was waiting for this time, and he immediately arranged for two lines of soldiers to prepare, attacking from the left and right.
And he took another line of soldiers, carefully went around behind the Japanese army, ready to outflank.
The battle was swift and fierce, with the fighters quickly killing a dozen of them, and the remaining 15 Japanese soldiers all fled to an earthen kiln deep in the mountains.
He was pleased that the battle had almost come to an end, and that no fighters had been injured.
But the question soon came, how to deal with the 15 Japanese soldiers who hid in the earthen kiln?
These dozen Japanese soldiers have been cowering in the cave, carrying out fierce fire attacks on the outside, as soon as the soldiers approach, they will immediately **.
The general knew that he could not fight him head-on, but could only rely on skill.
So, he shouted at the group of Japanese soldiers that as long as they disarmed and surrendered, the Eighth Route Army promised to treat them preferentially.
Unexpectedly, this group of Japanese soldiers, who were already in a desperate situation, refused to surrender, and threw grenades outside while scolding.
Fortunately, the soldiers guarding the entrance to the cave reacted quickly and all dodged the enemy's attack, so that there were no losses.
General Zeng thought about it, it was not worth it to attack hard, and it would be a waste of time to continue to consume, and the large army might be coming soon, and it might be dangerous if he didn't retreat.
So, he immediately ordered the group of Japanese soldiers to be buried alive, and the cadres on the side reminded him at that time: "This is not good, we have a policy to treat prisoners preferentially, and it will be difficult to deal with them when the time comes." ”
General Zeng shook his head and said: "The devils who refuse to surrender are not prisoners at all, we are still on the battlefield now, and we must bury these devils alive!" ”
At the sound of an order, the crowd took shovels and pickaxes to help dig the soil and bury it alive, and some people pushed the stones down and stuffed them directly into the earthen kiln.
After the preparations were made, the last to evacuate the fighters lit the fuse, and in a moment, the entire cave was blown down.
In this way, the 15 Japanese soldiers who refused to surrender were directly buried alive, and General Zeng was not punished, on the contrary, he was appreciated by the leading comrades of the military region.
In fact, when they retreated after blowing up the cave, a large force of the enemy rushed to the cliff, and they directly pounced, did not catch anything, and lost dozens of soldiers.
It was the general's understanding of the temperament of the Japanese army, coupled with caution and vigilance, that allowed the soldiers and himself to retreat without any sacrifice.
From May 1944, he entered the local branch party school to continue his studies, so his level of military and political theory continued to improve.
Five months later, he was appointed commander of the 2nd Division of the Jijin Military Region.
And such a mature general was not achieved overnight, and his growth was also affected by ***.
Teenagers join the army
100-year-old general "Zeng Mei, he joined the Red Army at the age of 16, he was a general who experienced the Zunyi Conference, and the venue of the meeting was chosen by him and his comrades-in-arms that year.
So, in his eyes, what was the Zunyi Conference like, and what was the most impressive thing when he first saw ***?
Similar to many comrades, the general came from a poor family background and was born in Xingguo County, Jiangxi Province in 1914, when he was still called Zeng Zhaotai.
When he was born, there were already three older brothers in the family, and it was this kind of family that was already poor that made life even more difficult.
In order to support the family, in addition to his parents going out to work, his three older brothers also went out to work.
At that time, the situation was very chaotic, and when he was 8 years old, his family couldn't afford it, so he passed him on to Zeng Guangwei of Chayuangang.
Fortunately, the family's conditions are relatively relaxed, they have a few acres of land for their family to live on, and they have planted catalpa trees on the hill, and the oil is extracted and sold in the market.
In this way, he grew all the way to the age of 15, and the Red Army led the troops to the tea garden to publicize, which was an important turning point in his life.
The masses in many counties and towns in Jiangxi Province have a good foundation, and the Red Army is welcomed by the masses everywhere it goes, and many young people have enthusiastically signed up to join the army, and the strength of the army has gradually increased.
At that time, he had already heard a lot about the deeds of the Red Army, and he was very yearning for it.
In April 1930, ** and Mr. Zhu led the masses to fight local tyrants and distribute fields, and the masses were elated and very supportive of the Red Army.
Two months later, he heard the new news again, saying that *** was going to hold a mass meeting in the local area, and he immediately took his partner to the county seat by car.
And it was this conference that made him sign up for the Red Army on the spot, and then passed the inspection and was incorporated into a soldier in the special service company of the 4th Army of the Red Army.
And this incident made him officially embark on a military career, and the soldiers in the army called them "red imps" who came to join the army before they were adults.
Although General Zeng was young at that time, he fought bravely and often made military exploits.
Soon, in order to train a new group of revolutionary cadres, soldiers like General Zeng, who performed well and had quick brain responses, were naturally selected to go to school for further study.
And this experience has also greatly improved his cultural level, and has also built a relevant understanding of military and political aspects.
Soon, the Long March began, and he experienced a rather dangerous World War I, the "Battle of the Xiangjiang River".
Decades later, when he recalled this memory, he said: "We, the comrades who are still alive, burst into tears when we think of the bloody battle on the Xiangjiang River. ”
Fortunately, things took a turn for the better, and the convening of the Zunyi Conference pointed out the way forward for the Red Army.
At that time, he met *** At that time, the prime minister was holding the post of vice chairman of the Military Commission.
He asked General Zeng to go and reconnoiter a large mansion, which was the mansion of Bai Huizhang, the commander of the Guizhou Army.
But at that time, he was intercepting the Red Army outside according to Lao Chiang's order, and he had no idea that the Red Army had arrived.
Thus, from January 15 to 17, 1935, the Red Army held a meeting there, and a new chapter in the Red Army began.
During his military career, ** gave him a great influence.
From 1934 to 1937, he worked beside the Prime Minister.
On April 15, 1934, General Zeng reported to the General Headquarters at the request of **.
During that time, he worked in the Operations Section of the First Bureau, and when General Zeng first met ***, he remembered it very clearly.
The prime minister was wearing a gray military uniform, which had been washed and faded, and he still had a big beard on his face, one of which he did not have time to take care of, and the other of which could also play the role of camouflage.
In 1937, General Zeng wanted to change his name to "Zeng Meide" as a way to encourage himself.
**After learning about it, he suggested: "Just go straight to the word 'de', the name 'Zeng Mei' is very good." ”
Since then, he has changed his name to "Zeng Mei".
In addition, the serious and responsible attitude towards work has also infected and influenced him, and it can be said that the spirit and work attitude of ** have affected his life.
Work hard
On the battlefields of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, General Zeng Mei performed well, and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he did not slack off, and served as the deputy commander-in-chief of the National Day parade five times.
And this is inseparable from the influence of ** on him during the period of the Red Army, and what happened at that time will be difficult for General Zeng to forget for the rest of his life.
Before the "Xi'an Incident", since 1934, General Zeng had been working in the Operations Section and worked beside ***.
He has a task of being on duty as a staff officer to send telegrams to *** for processing.
During that time, there were frequent wars, and the prime minister worked non-stop, with very little time to rest, and he gradually lost weight because of lack of sleep and food.
When General Zeng saw this, his heart ached very much, and once, the operations office received another telegram.
At that time, ** had just fallen asleep, and everyone couldn't bear to wake him up, and only sent it to him after he woke up.
** Immediately criticized them seriously, and specially emphasized: "If there is a message in the future, no matter what, you will pull me up." ”
The prime minister is extremely tired, and it is often difficult to wake up after falling asleep, so the staff officers often have the experience of pulling the prime minister up directly from his sleep.
According to General Zeng's recollections, after the general staff officer pulled the premier up, he always took a shower with cold water first, and then immediately went to his desk to read the telegram and correct the documents.
This spirit of work greatly influenced General Zeng, who led an infantry division to participate in the review at the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949.
The 196th Infantry Division of the 66th Army of the People's Liberation Army was the only integrated infantry division at the founding ceremony.
In the newly-born China, this team is full of spirits and shows the high-spirited attitude of the first team to China and foreign countries.
After the end of the Korean War in 1955, ** had a new idea, and he hoped to build an army as a "window" for countries around the world to understand the squadron.
Soon, in the selection list, he saw the 66th Infantry Division of the 196th Army with a rich history and fine traditions.
The predecessor of this unit was the unit under Nie Shuai, who served in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region as an independent 1st brigade.
Among them, the first division commander of the team, General Zeng Mei, was very impressed: during the Zunyi Conference, this general served as a staff officer of the Red Army's operational headquarters and got along with him and leading comrades.
In the end, he selected General Zeng's infantry division, and the general did not fail in his mission and successfully built it into an excellent foreign army.
In September 1955, he was awarded the rank of major general, and that year's National Day parade, he held the post of deputy commander-in-chief.
Due to his good cooperation with the commander-in-chief, from 1956 to 1959, he served as deputy commander-in-chief four times in succession, and a total of five times in addition to the founding ceremony.
General Zeng has a very favorite **, that is, he is wearing a military uniform and has a chest mark with the words "deputy commander-in-chief" pinned to his chest, which was taken on October 1, 1955.
Regarding honor, General Zeng rarely mentioned it to his children, and he talked more about the struggle and hardships of the arduous years.
The general is a low-key person and never flaunts his position in front of others.
His second daughter recalled that when she got married before, the two in-laws met for the first time, and at that time, General Zeng asked her father-in-law what his occupation was.
The other party knew that he was a soldier, but he was still very worried in his heart, afraid that his background would mess up the marriage.
The other party said: "I am a carpenter, and I am level 7." ”
What they didn't expect was that General Zeng immediately replied: "Coincidentally, I'm level 7, and we're at the same level." Don't worry about so much, whatever you do is for the people, it's fine. ”
General Zeng's remarks dispelled the other party's nervousness and concerns.
In fact, General Zeng's level was administrative level 7, and according to the division at that time, 13 levels and upwards were considered **.
General Zeng's approach made his son-in-law particularly admire, and the general was a man who was indifferent to fame and fortune and devoted himself to public service.
According to the memories of his children, the old man did not say anything before leaving, but he wrote two words: "Go home".
As a "100-year-old general", General Zeng Mei died at the age of 101, and his life is a history of the growth of New China, and his contributions will also be remembered by history.
He wrote the word "go home", presumably, he had already met his former comrades-in-arms, as well as the great leaders and comrades.