On September 23, 971, a military train slowly drove out of the south and headed for the city of Zhengzhou, Henan Province.
In one of the train's cars, two high-ranking officers in military uniforms sat together.
During the banquet, Zhang Wannian, commander of the 127th Division of the 43rd Army, and his partner political commissar Guan Guanglie both frowned, as if they were full of doubts about the upcoming mission.
Lao Zhang, when you go to Zhengzhou this time, do you think your superiors will give us any important tasks? Guan Guanglie couldn't help but ask, his curiosity clearly revealed between his words.
On the moving train, the two generals faced the scenery outside the window, and their hearts were full of expectations and speculations.
After Guan Guanglie raised a question, Zhang Wannian responded indifferently: "I don't know much about this situation, the organization just told us that we have an urgent task and need to rush to Zhengzhou as soon as possible." ”
Guan Guanglie originally wanted to ask in depth, but Zhang Wannian waved his hand lightly to stop: "Old Guan, why are you in such a hurry? When we get to our destination, everything will fall into place. ”
These words made Guan Guanglie, who knew Zhang Wannian, understand, and it would be useless to ask again. So, he chose to wait quietly for the train to arrive at its destination.
However, at this moment, Zhang Wannian's brows furrowed slightly.
He knew very well that this trip to Zhengzhou must involve some unusual affairs.
Not long ago, his superiors gave him an unexpected **, the content of which was mainly related to Guan Guanglie who was sitting next to him.
On September 15, 1971, Zhang Wannian had just finished a regular military meeting and returned to his office exhausted.
As soon as he closed his eyes, he was eager to rest for a while, and suddenly the piercing ** bell rang, waking him up from fatigue again.
Zhang Wannian suddenly threw away his tiredness, walked to the side of the ** and quickly picked it up, and asked with a hint of nervousness.
* The voice from the military headquarters of the 43rd Army came from the other end, and after introducing himself, Zhang Wannian guessed whether there was a new exercise mission.
He thought of some of the friction problems in the border area, and the emergency situation that the troops might face immediately came to his mind.
Zhang Wannian was ready to lead the troops to respond quickly, after all, he was an experienced general on the battlefield of liberation, and he was full of confidence in defending his homeland.
However, the message from the other end made him stunned.
Something happened to the political commissar of your division! Hurry up and control him, don't let him transfer troops, and strictly prevent him from escaping and committing suicide! ”
This sentence surprised Zhang Wannian.
Divisional commissar? Which division political commissar exactly? Is it his close comrade-in-arms Guan Guanglie?
There was a sense of uneasiness in his heart, and Zhang Wannian hurriedly asked: "Chief, is it Guan Guanglie?" What happened to him? ”
The superior of the military department replied in a firm tone: "You don't need to know more about this question, hurry up and carry out the order!" Also, don't divulge it, especially not let him find out! ”
At this critical juncture, Zhang Wannian was deeply aware of the urgency of the matter at hand.
Although he didn't know anything about the plight of his old partner, Kwan Guanglie, as a soldier, it was his duty to obey orders.
So, he did not hesitate to make a military warrant.
The military's ** quickly hung up after receiving Zhang Wannian's assurance, leaving him still deeply confused.
Zhang Wannian knew Guan Guanglie very well, and the two had contact as early as the war years.
The old partner may have been tactful at times, but he never had a problem with the big picture and his thoughts.
However, as a veteran cadre who has been engaged in revolutionary work for a long time, Zhang Wannian has extremely high requirements for party spirit.
Despite his considerable trust in Guan Guanglie, he still firmly decided to obey the orders of his superiors.
Therefore, Zhang Wan began to think carefully about how to carry out this special task.
Considering that the political commissar is a civilian job and is in charge of the party and government, the transfer of troops must be approved by him, the division commander.
Zhang Wannian is not too worried about this.
However, he was a little worried about the possible behavior of "running away, committing suicide, or even endangering others" mentioned by his superiors.
After careful consideration, Zhang Wannian secretly dispatched a guard squad to monitor Guan Guanglie's every move and asked them to report to him at any time.
It was precisely because of Zhang Wannian's cautious handling that the problems worried by his superiors did not occur.
Although he didn't know the important information hidden behind this pass, Zhang Wannian never dared to relax in the slightest.
Even in those few days of meetings, he always paid attention to Guan Guanglie's emotional changes, for fear that something abnormal would happen.
It was not until the morning of September 23, that is, a full week after Zhang Wannian received the first call, that the superiors called the second call again.
This time, the notice was extremely concise, containing only one sentence: "Immediately take the political commissar to the military headquarters for a meeting!" ”
After receiving the order, Zhang Wannian did not ask much, and immediately contacted Guan Guanglie, and the two took the military special train that afternoon and quickly went to Zhengzhou, Henan, where the 43rd Army was stationed.
However, when they boarded the train, neither of them could have imagined that their fortunes would change dramatically when they got off the train.
So, where is Guan Guanglie sacred? What happened to him?
Guan Guanglie, who originated from an inadvertent relationship, like his long-time partner Zhang Wannian, was also a member of the revolutionary cause before the founding of the People's Republic of China.
After the outbreak of the Liberation War, he participated in the Northeast War, followed him closely, and made important contributions to the revolutionary cause.
In March 1949, in response to the needs of the upcoming southward operation and the National Liberation War, the former Northeast Field Army was officially reorganized into the "Fourth Field Army" according to the order of the ** Military Commission.
At the same time, the reorganization of the army requires more personnel to join the command and management system.
It was at this time that Guan Guanglie, an intellectual with a certain level of education, was transferred to the Political Department as an officer.
At that time, Zhang Wannian was serving as a staff officer at the headquarters, and the two gradually got acquainted in their daily work.
In his youth, Guan Guanglie was sharp-minded, good at summarizing problems, and had strong social skills, so he was favored by his superiors.
Even ** was impressed with him.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Guan Guanglie was transferred to his office as a secretary for seven years.
Upon learning of this appointment, Kwan Guanglie was very excited.
However, what he did not anticipate was that it was this position that would have a huge impact on his future.
In early September 1971, Lin Liguo urgently transferred Guan Guanglie from Luoyang to Beijing with a forged "warrant" and asked him to embezzle the flamethrower.
Guan Guanglie refused his request on the grounds that he did not have the right to call on military equipment.
Originally, there was no major problem with this matter, but Guan Guanglie was negligent and did not report the incident.
Soon after, a special incident broke out, which also had a great impact on Guan Guanglie.
At the military headquarters in Zhengzhou, two travelers, still covered with dust, hurried to the meeting hall and waited.
Soon after, the high-level of the 43rd Army stepped in solemnly, followed by the staff of the Wuhan Military Region.
Once everyone was seated, the door to the conference room was slowly closed, and the leaders explained to Zhang Wannian and Guan Guanglie in detail the cause of the incident and the reason why they had been summoned.
After understanding the ins and outs of the whole incident, Zhang Wannian and Guan Guanglie were shocked.
They didn't expect such a big thing to happen during this time.
Especially Guan Guanglie, his face instantly turned pale.
Immediately afterwards, the chief looked at the two of them and said, "The matter has come to this point, so let the two of you also make a statement." ”
Under the identity of the leader, Zhang Wannian appeared unswerving.
Although he served under the leadership of **, his position was not prominent at that time, and he was deeply immersed in intense and heavy revolutionary work, and did not have much personal relationship with **.
Therefore, when faced with the leader's request, Zhang Wannian did not hesitate to say: "I am a soldier, resolutely obey the decision of **, and maintain a high degree of consistency with **." ”
And Guan Guanglie frowned and said: "I do have some relationship with **, I have served as a secretary under him for 7 years, but I never thought that such a thing would happen." ”
Now, he completely understands the purpose of coming to Zhengzhou this time.
Regarding Guan Guanglie's question, the leaders also felt quite a headache.
thought that in their minds, Guan Guanglie, like Zhang Wannian, was a talent with a firm attitude and outstanding ability.
Even if the higher-ups were ready to promote Guan Guanglie to the post of director of the Political Department of the 43rd Army, even the report had already been drafted.
But now, something like this has happened, and all plans have been disrupted at once.
In particular, the higher authorities found out the fact that Guan Guanglie had gone to Beijing without permission.
This was difficult to explain at the time.
That night, Guan Guanglie stayed in Zhengzhou, while Zhang Wannian returned to the division headquarters to continue to preside over the work.
In the subsequent review, Kwan was unable to provide evidence of his innocence.
In desperation, his superiors dismissed him from his post and detained him.
Although Zhang Wannian did not face cumbersome problems, he was also involved in a certain amount because of his many years of collaboratorship with Guan Guanglie.
After returning home, he endured more than two years of political censorship.
In December 1973, Yang Dezhi, a military general, was transferred to the Wuhan Military Region, and he personally intervened in Zhang Wannian's review affairs.
After learning about the cause and effect, Yang Dezhi believed that Zhang Wannian was an outstanding comrade with a strong party spirit. After reviewing for so long and not finding any problems, it proves that he is very innocent.
As a result, Zhang Wannian was able to return to work.
Five years later, Vietnam's self-defense counterattack broke out. At this time, Zhang Wannian, who had been promoted to deputy commander of the 43rd Army, led his old subordinates to the Sino-Vietnamese border as the main force to participate in the self-defense counterattack.
Under his leadership, the troops achieved outstanding results, successively overcoming more than a dozen enemy defense lines and completely defeating the enemy army.
Zhang Wannian became a highly respected combat hero, and the 127th Division under his command was known as the "Iron Division" and enjoyed a high reputation throughout the army.
With this exploit, Zhang Wannian's military career after that was smooth sailing.
He successively served as commander of the Grand Military Region, chief of the General Staff, and was promoted to vice chairman of the Central Military Commission.
He devoted his life to the construction of national defense.
Kwan was not released until 1981.
Subsequently, the organization arranged for him to live in Luoyang, receive a subsidy of several hundred yuan per month, and spend the rest of his life in peace.