Many of the founding generals of New China left their hometowns when they were young and galloped on the battlefield with their troops, making important contributions to China's Agrarian Revolutionary War, War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and War of Liberation.
They spent most of their time on the front lines, and it was not until after the founding of New China that they had the opportunity to return to their hometowns to visit their relatives. Among them, one of the founding lieutenant generals decided to go back to his hometown after the founding of New China, and he was warmly welcomed by the local people, but he was sued by the local ** to Beijing.
Who was this heroic founding lieutenant general? What happened in his hometown that made him sued by the local ** to Beijing? Let's start with the life of General Yao Zhe.
General Yao Zhe was born in 1906 in Shuangqing District, Shaoyang, Hunan, when he was young, it was the first cooperation between the Xinhai Revolution and the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, and he was deeply influenced by revolutionary ideas, embarked on the road of revolution, and became a young hero.
In November 1925, Comrade Yao Zhe joined the peasant association organized by our party in Shaoyang, and was elected as the chairman and referee member of the peasant association of 13 townships in the second district of Shaoyang by virtue of his outstanding leadership skills at the meeting of the peasant association in the following year.
However, on April 12, 1927, Chiang Kai-shek launched the "April 12" counter-revolutionary coup, the first cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party broke down, and the Great Revolution was also declared a failure.
A reactionary upsurge has been set off throughout the country, and Hunan has not been spared. In order to declare his support for Chiang Kai-shek, the Hunan warlord Xu Kexiang launched the Ma-Ri Incident, and wantonly ** members of the Hunan Peasant Association and Communist Party members, Yao Zhe left his hometown and entered the camp school of the 5th Independent Division of the National Revolutionary Army.
In fact, this school is a secret party organization led by Huang Gongluo, ostensibly as an officer training regiment of the 5th Independent Division, but in fact, Peng and Huang developed the party organization in the whole division on this basis.
In July 1928, during a crisis in which a secret liaison station was destroyed, Huang Gonglue's exposure made *** realize the need to launch an uprising. Under the leadership of ***, Yao Zhe participated in the Pingjiang Uprising and quickly grew into a soldier of the Red Fifth Army.
The following year, Yao Zhe not only joined the party, but also became the captain of the special team of the seventh regiment of the Red Fifth Army. His outstanding performance attracted the attention of ***, who appreciated this young man who was always rushing to the front line, and specifically asked for his name.
In December 1931, the Red Fifth Army was expanded into the Red Third Army Corps, and Yao Zhe was promoted to the battalion commander of the Special Service Regiment of the Red Third Army Corps with his brave combat performance. Because he has been following the *** battle, he has gradually formed a brave and fearless combat style, and has a spirit of "one husband is the key, ten thousand people are not open".
** So praise him. During the Agrarian Revolutionary War, Yao Zhe experienced more than 200 battles, was wounded 5 times, and was wounded 3 times and could not get out of the line of fire.
In the Battle of Shaxian on January 25, 1934, Yao Zhe served as the commander of the Red Tenth Regiment, and received an urgent order from his superiors, he personally led more than 50 people to raid Shaxian County, and fought fierce street battles and white-knives battles with the enemy.
When General Yao Zhe was engaged with the enemy at the corner of the street, he was unfortunately wounded to his left cheek by a hidden enemy knife, leaving a knife mark three inches long and one finger wide. However, the heroic general was awarded the title of "Yao Yidao" for this, and was awarded the Red Star Medal of the Third Class by the Central Revolutionary Military Commission after the battle in Shaxian.
At the same time, he was transferred to the Political Security Bureau of the Communist Party of China and became the captain of the security team and the commander of the garrison of Huang'an and Meiwa. When Yao Zhe took office, ** specially shared a sentence with him: "It's worth it for you to change a commander with a knife." ”
Yao Zhe replied with his usual humor: "Please Captain Peng give me another chance to be stabbed." Since then, this good story of "changing a commander with a knife" has spread in people's word of mouth.
On the Long March, Yao Zhe served as the acting chief of staff of the Second Field Corps of the **Red Army, and concurrently served as the head of the Political Security Corps, responsible for protecting the safety of the ** chief. In the Anti-Japanese War, he showed his might on Daqingshan and became a brave and fearless general.
In October 1934, the Red Army began the Long March, and Yao Zhe, as a protector, always stuck around the leader under the instructions of the first leader. ** once humorously said to Yao Zhe: "Open the road in the mountains, have your own forward, and rely on you when you encounter the enemy." ”
Although Yao Zhe was nervous, he still nodded firmly in agreement. In the hardships and dangers of the Long March, Yao Zhe has been fighting with the first and participated in the battles of Zhiluo Town in the north, Yan Xishan in the east and Majiajun in Ningxia in the west, and made important contributions to the victory of the Red Army.
In October 1935, the Red Army arrived at Wuqi Town in northern Shaanxi, and the Long March came to a successful end. ** spoke highly of Yao Zhe's performance, saying that he "has meritorious service in escorting".
However, even after the end of the Long March, Chiang Kai-shek still did not relax his "encirclement and suppression" of the Red Army. Yao Zhe, as a reserve talent of the Anti-Japanese War, entered the second phase of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University for study, and made positive contributions to the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party to jointly establish the anti-Japanese national united front.
In August 1937, the Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army, and although the Kuomintang reactionaries were wary of our party and only gave us the establishment of one army, we were not discouraged.
In the case of compressing the establishment, Yao Zhe was directly appointed as the chief of staff of the 358 Brigade of the 120th Division by virtue of his outstanding talent, and then served as the head of the 715th Regiment, showing extraordinary military command ability.
During the Anti-Japanese War in Daqingshan, Yao Zhe showed his brilliant side. In 1938, the Military Commission of our country decided to open up an anti-Japanese guerrilla base in Daqingshan, formed the Daqingshan Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Detachment of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army, appointed Li Jingquan as the commander and Yao Zhe as the chief of staff, and led the guerrilla detachment to successfully advance into Daqingshan and achieved brilliant results.
In the flames of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, some commanders of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army successfully established the Daqingshan Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Base Area with their heroic fighting spirit and outstanding command ability.
The base area is located in the north of Mongolia and the anti-Japanese revolutionary base in northern Shaanxi in the south, and its strategic location is extremely important. However, the climate here is extremely harsh, with the lowest temperature in winter reaching more than minus 30 degrees Celsius, and the snow can reach a meter thick, making the living conditions extremely difficult.
At the same time, the Daqingshan area was closely connected with the Japanese and the Kuomintang diehards, which meant that the difficulties faced by the Daqingshan guerrilla detachment were not only the harsh natural environment, but also the possible attack of the Japanese and the diehards at any time.
However, in the face of many difficulties, some commanders of the 120th Division, including Li Jingquan and Yao Zhe, did not flinch. On July 29, 1938, under the watchful eyes of the commander of the 120th Division** and political commissar Guan Xiangying, they led 2,500 fighters of the Daqingshan guerrilla detachment to resolutely embark on the journey to Daqingshan.
Relying on their tenacious perseverance and firm conviction, they overcame all kinds of difficulties and successfully established the Daqingshan Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Base Area, making tremendous contributions to the War of Resistance Against Japan.
The commanders and fighters of the Daqingshan guerrilla detachment took a group photo bravely, and the task was arduous but they forged ahead. After receiving the order from the division headquarters, they decided to brave the difficulties and return to Pinglu County in the northwest of Shanxi Province to receive the leather clothes for winter.
This batch of leather jackets was originally prepared for them, but due to special circumstances, they arrived in advance. However, the Japanese puppet army had already seen through their direction of action and pursued them frantically. At this time, it will be an uphill battle to return to pick up the leather jacket.
However, in order to survive the harsh winter, they had to have leather clothing. So, Yao Zhe personally led the team and returned to Pinglu County with a battalion of the 715th Regiment and three companies of the fourth detachment of the guerrillas.
Here they will fight to the death against the enemy, pick up leather coats, and keep their teammates warm. And Li Jingquan will continue to lead the team to the Daqingshan area and continue their battle process.
After the division of troops in the Daqingshan area, Yao Zhe quickly led four companies of troops to flexibly detour around the Manhan Mountain and the Great Wall, trying to mislead the enemy. Li Jingquan also kept in touch with the Japanese puppet army on the way forward in order to grasp the direction of the opponent's movements.
However, Yao Zhe's squad was still discovered by the Japanese puppet army. When they arrived at the Great Elm Leek Ditch, the Japanese puppet army unit stationed in Guisui noticed the whereabouts of the detachment and immediately mobilized hundreds of troops to attack our detachment.
At that time, Yao Zhe had four companies of troops, totaling about 500 people. If you passively run away, you will be in a disadvantageous situation. Therefore, Yao Zhe decided to seize the advantageous terrain and give the enemy a head-on attack.
The battle lasted for six or seven hours, and in the end, Yao Zhe led his troops to kill 21 enemies and wound more than 50 enemies, successfully escaping the pursuit of the Japanese puppet army. Then, they rushed to Pinglu County day and night to pick up the leather clothes.
Sun Chaoqun, the founding major general, led the leather coat to send warmth. On a hot summer day, he carried more than 1,400 fur coats and was carried by more than 100 donkeys.
When Yao Zhe saw this, he decided to let the soldiers put on fur coats, and the rest was transported on donkeys. They successfully transported fur coats, and under the command of the division headquarters, the 6th Garrison Regiment also joined the escort team and was responsible for covering the crossing of the Pingsui Railway.
When the convoy arrived near the Pingsui Railway, they learned that the Japanese had set up a heavy ambush along the railway line in an attempt to intercept the fur coats of the troops. Yao Zhe immediately ordered Sun Chaoqun to lead the garrison to outflank the past and rush to Hongshaba Station, and the Japanese army fled as if they were frightened.
Subsequently, Yao Zhe ordered the detachment to drive the donkey across the Pingsui Railway, which was tightly sealed by the enemy, and successfully rendezvous with Li Jingquan's large army. After that, they jointly fought against the Japanese puppet army in the Daqingshan area, and beat the enemy to the ground.
Yao Zhe went to Yan'an ** Party School to study in October 1944, and after completing his studies, he became the commander of the Suimeng Military Region and a member of the Suimeng District Committee of the Communist Party of China, and participated in the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
Before the end of this meeting, he had already led his troops to recover all the important cities on the Pingsui line, except for Baotou and Guisui. Soon after the outbreak of the Liberation War, it was decided to form the Northwest Field Army and serve as the commander, while Yao Zhe was transferred to the commander of the Eighth Column of the Northwest Field Army and the secretary of the Party Committee of the column.
So, Yao Zhe returned to his former old chief and continued to fight under his command. After the establishment of the Suimeng Military Region, Yao Zhe was appointed commander of the Suimeng Military Region and concurrently served as commander of the Eighth Army of the First Field Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
However, in 1950, a few months after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he decided to return to his hometown to visit his family. He hadn't been home for 23 years since he left his hometown in 1927, and by this time he had begun to feel the feeling of "the country's accent does not change and his sideburns are declining".
Filled with excitement, he set out on the way home, thinking that although life in his hometown had not changed much, at least there would be some improvement. However, as soon as he and the guards entered Shaoyang, Hunan, they were shocked by the sight in front of them.
In the early days of liberation, the streets of Hunan, among the bustling crowds, most of them were hungry people with yellow faces and thin muscles, and there were also many elderly people and children. This is not the hometown style that Yao Zhe is familiar with, and if he hadn't been there in person, he would never have believed it to be true.
By questioning passers-by, he learned that the land had been barren due to years of war, and that the drought of that year had made it impossible to grow food in the fields. When the Kuomintang reactionary troops retreated, they looted what little food they had.
As a farmer-turned-general, Yao Zhe empathizes with the despair of the victims. He and his soldiers have been fighting abroad for many years, just to let the people live and work in peace and contentment and have enough to eat.
However, the sight in front of him made him feel deeply guilty, and the joy of returning home to visit his family also faded by half.
In that difficult moment, the people welcomed the People's Liberation Army into the city. Yao Zhe saw a train in the crowd, slowly coming from the front. He recognized at a glance that it was a convoy carrying military rations for the troops.
Yao Zhe knew that this would have a bad impact and even face serious consequences, but in order to save the lives of the people, he resolutely decided to "rob" the military rations. He ordered his guards to intercept the convoy and personally negotiated with the leader of the convoy, asking for food to be distributed to the villagers.
After seeing Yao Zhe, the cadres of Shaoyang County, who were responsible for escorting the military rations, said that the military rations were the rations of the front-line soldiers, and hoped that Yao Zhe would let the grain transportation team pass. But Yao Zhe angrily pointed out that the people on the roadside were suffering from hunger and their lives were in danger.
He questioned whether the cadres regarded the lives of the villagers as nothing, and why they did not save them when they saw death. Although the cadre felt helpless, he admitted that he was only acting on orders and could not do anything about the problem of the hungry people.
He looked at the plight of the villagers, and his heart was full of regret. Still, he was powerless to solve the problem at hand.
We want to get rid of the Kuomintang just so that everyone can live a good life. We were able to drive out the Japanese and the Kuomintang because of the help and care of our neighbors. Even if you sue ***, he'll think I'm not doing anything wrong. ”
When the villagers present heard these words, they cheered, and Yao Zhe also left satisfied. Afterwards, Shaoyang County did file a complaint with his superiors, but after learning about the situation, he did not blame Yao Zhe, but praised his behavior.
Although Yao Zhe's behavior violated military law, his purpose was to enable the people to survive, which was completely in line with our party's idea of uniting the masses. Therefore, ** carried out some ideological education on Yao Zhe and did not hold him accountable.
After the military rations were "robbed" away, another batch was transported, and the matter came to an end. Even before his death, Yao Zhe was still working hard and contributing to the country. In 1955, New China held a grand award ceremony, and Yao Zhe was awarded the rank of lieutenant general at the ceremony, becoming the founding lieutenant general of New China.
General Yao Zhe devoted his life to the cause of the country and the people, served in the National People's Congress and the People's Political Consultative Conference, and was successively elected as a deputy to the National People's Congress and a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
In the spring of 1979, despite his poor health, he insisted on attending meetings of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. However, on his way back to Wuhan after the meeting, he suddenly went into shock, and after first aid failed, he died on May 27 at the age of 73.
His death caused more than 100,000 people to spontaneously take to the streets to express their deep respect and remembrance for this veteran general who served the country and the people all his life.