In 1992, after the closing ceremony of the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the 88-year-old comrade *** tightly held the hand of the 78-year-old General Zhang Zhen, who was still strong, and asked cordially: "Comrade Zhang Zhen, how old are you this year, and are you in good health?" ”
Zhang Zhen excitedly stood up and saluted a military salute, and replied: "I am 78 years old, and my body is still tough as you can see!" Comrade * nodded with satisfaction, smiled and said: "Okay, you are still young, you must play your role under the leadership of Comrade *** and assist Comrade ***." ”
Why did Comrade Zhang Zhen assist Comrade ***? What does this mean? **What kind of expectations does Comrade have for Zhang Zhen?
The first acquaintance of General Zhang Zhen and Comrade *** can be traced back to the Huaihai Battle at the end of 1948, when the People's Liberation Army and the Kuomintang Army on the Southern Front were engaged in a decisive battle. As the deputy commander of the 2nd Column of the East China Field Army, Zhang Zhen personally witnessed the outstanding military leadership of Comrade ***.
Zhang Zhen was deeply impressed by his keen tactical vision and meticulous strategic planning.
It's not easy for you to eat this pot of raw rice one bite at a time! "After the annihilation of Huang Wei's corps, the PLA successfully surrounded Du Yuming's group.
In order to prevent the loss from expanding, Chiang Kai-shek ordered Fu Zuoyi to lead an army to support. Our army immediately discovered and convened a meeting on December 12 to annihilate Du Yuming's corps as soon as possible.
**, Zhang Zhen and others attended the meeting, including Zhang Zhen. When he learned that the meeting would be held at the headquarters of the East China Field Army, Zhang Zhen immediately followed Su Yu to the headquarters to greet him.
Soon, an American jeep drove to the door of the headquarters, and in the car sat *** and *** comrades and others. When Comrade *** appeared in sight, Zhang Zhen became nervous, and he almost lost his hat when he saluted.
Seeing this, the comrade quipped: "The headquarters is so big, what if the Kuomintang plane bombs it?" How afraid you are of death! As soon as the words fell, everyone laughed, and Zhang Zhen's mood slowly eased.
Observing that the atmosphere had become relaxed, Comrade ** continued: "But don't worry, Chiang Kai-shek is busy moving, how can he have time to bomb us!" ”
At the meeting, Zhang Zhen had expected to continue to discuss the follow-up battle plan for the Huaihai Campaign. However, Comrade ** had already foreseen the victory in the Huaihai Campaign, and he had already begun to plan the next step of the river-crossing operation.
** Comrade's self-confidence and determination at the meeting made Zhang Zhen deeply admired. As a deputy commander, Zhang Zhen's performance was a little too exciting, but this is not surprising, because since he joined the revolution, Comrade ** has been his role model.
Zhang Zhen's family conditions were not good, he could not go to school, and followed his parents to farm since he was a child. In 1926, when the revolutionary upsurge arose in Pingjiang, Zhang Zhen decisively joined the Labor Scouts, and later joined the Young Pioneers and actively participated in the revolution.
In 1930, at the age of 16, Zhang Zhen was fortunate enough to become a member of the Chinese Communist Party and became a Red Army soldier. When he was young, he often felt lost in battle, but the experience of marching into Fujian with the army changed him, and the person who led him in the right direction was Comrade ***.
On the battlefield where the 4th and 5th divisions of the Red Third Army joined forces, Zhang Zhen was deeply impressed by the tenacious fighting style of the soldiers of the Fifth Division. Whether on the battlefield or in life, they can be fearless, hard-working, and tenacious.
Especially when Zhang Zhen witnessed that the soldiers of the Fifth Division even took raw rice to satisfy their hunger in order not to delay the battle, such a brave and fearless army of the king successfully eliminated the well-equipped main force of the Kuomintang in the battle of Longxikou, showing an unparalleled fighting spirit, which made Zhang Zhen deeply admired.
In the mouths of his comrades-in-arms, Zhang Zhen learned that this army, known as the Fifth Division, was the Red Seventh Army created by Comrade *** himself. ** Comrades lead by example, making this army stronger and stronger.
Since then, Zhang Zhen has developed a deep admiration for Comrade *** and is always eager to have the opportunity to meet him. However, at that time, the Communist Party of China was facing many crises, the Kuomintang's "encirclement and suppression" had just ended, and the War of Resistance against Japan broke out again.
Although Zhang Zhen and Comrade *** are in different war zones, they have always admired each other. Zhang Zhen has always followed in the footsteps of Comrade ***, from a reckless young man to a mature and brave warrior.
In that battle, although Zhang Zhen was very friendly to the enemy, his skepticism remained unchanged. He knew that the enemy was just pretending to accept **, ready to annihilate the third battalion at the minimum cost while they were not paying attention.
Sure enough, a few days later, the enemy secretly began to build the road, which completely confirmed his suspicions. He immediately ordered the fighters to be ready for battle and wait for the enemy's attack at any time.
Early the next morning, the enemy army really launched an attack, but Zhang Zhen was prepared and successfully repelled the enemy's charge, and since then the battle has become famous.
During the previous transfer, Zhang Zhen and the guerrillas were careful not to attract the attention of the enemy. However, this time the sudden arrival of the Japanese invaders and the Japanese puppet army surprised Zhang Zhen.
Realizing the urgency of the situation, Zhang Zhen immediately began to formulate a battle strategy, and in the face of the enemy's superiority in strength and equipment, he decided to use the advantage of the high ground to counterattack on the southwest cemetery of Doulou.
The Japanese puppet army did not expect our army to take the initiative to attack at all, and was caught off guard. However, this Japanese puppet army still had a certain amount of training, and it didn't take long for it to quickly set up a formation and engage in a fierce gun battle with our army in the same place.
As the battle progressed, the momentum of our army began to weaken.
Despite the valorism of the fighters, the guerrillas of this new recruit were so nervous that some of them could not even use their guns. At this moment, Zhang Zhen stepped forward, took the machine gun in the hand of a small soldier, and rushed towards the enemy's camp in stride in the face of the enemy's bullets.
When the enemy saw Zhang Zhen's move, he immediately returned the color, and a bullet hit him in the right leg. However, Zhang Zhen did not waver, put on a new machine gun magazine, and continued to fire fiercely at the enemy.
His brave deeds not only inspired the young warrior's will to fight, but also terrified the enemy. In the end, Zhang Zhen led the guerrillas to successfully defeat the well-trained Japanese puppet army and killed a Japanese second lieutenant.
The baptism of war made Zhang Zhen gradually grow up, and he was promoted from an ordinary soldier to chief of staff. But he has never been able to see Comrade *** with his own eyes, and can only learn about his victory on the battlefield from telegrams.
After more than ten years of war, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression ended, and the War of Liberation began, Zhang Zhen did not finally meet his "idol" Comrade ** until the meeting of the second phase of the Huaihai Campaign.
** Comrade's humorous demeanor left a deep impression on Zhang Zhen. Since then, whenever Zhang Zhen mentions Comrade ***, he will proudly tell about their first meeting.
In 1954, Zhang Zhen entered the Nanjing Military Academy for further study and served as the vice president of the academy after graduation. He attaches great importance to practical teaching, and often uses the practical experience of Comrade *** to interpret important knowledge points.
Once, a student asked: "Why was Comrade *able to win a battle without systematically studying military knowledge?" Zhang Zhen replied with a smile: "Although Comrade * has not systematically studied military knowledge, in many battles, he has accumulated valuable experience in military dialectics, which has enabled him to achieve victory on various battlefields. ”
Zhang Zhen's support for Comrade *** is extremely firm, and even in turbulent times, he has always stood by Comrade ***.
From this point of view, it is not surprising that Comrade ** entrusted Zhang Zhen to help *** in 1992. But it turns out that Comrade ** did not do this only because of his friendship with Zhang Zhen, but more importantly, his recognition of Zhang Zhen's ability.
Although Zhang Zhen didn't read much as a child, when faced with work problems, he always had the courage to innovate and solve problems in a unique way. In the 70s of the last century, there were problems in the system in some military regions, and many soldiers were not properly trained and even lost their good work style.
In the face of challenges, Zhang Zhen did not hesitate to adopt thunderous measures, regarded the work of reorganizing and managing the army as the most important task, and effectively promoted the development of the army. In the course of military modernization, Zhang Zhen, deputy chief of the General Staff, has used many novel methods to actively promote the process of military modernization.
These methods include, but are not limited to, the establishment of national defense universities and the deepening of education and training reforms. Even after carrying out a large number of modernization reforms, Zhang Zhen did not forget the perseverance and noble qualities of revolutionary fighters, and sent batch after batch of talents with excellent ideological ability and military ability to the country.
At the time of the meeting of the Military Commission in April 1992, Zhang Zhen, who was already 78 years old, was ready to return to his hometown. In order to express his thoughts, he sent a letter to Comrade *** in advance, informing him that this would be his last time attending the meeting.
Hearing this news, Comrade ** felt very sorry and entrusted Su Yu to persuade Zhang Zhen many times. **Comrade's personal point will make Zhang Zhen change his mind about retirement and decide to continue to contribute to the country.
In 1994, Comrade ** became the chairman of the Military Commission, and Zhang Zhen also fully assisted Comrade *** in managing the Military Commission in accordance with Comrade ***'s instructions.
In January 1993, Comrade ** had an in-depth conversation with Comrade Zhang Zhen. During the conversation, General Zhang Zhen raised some problems existing in the troops, such as the Jianguomen bloody case in Beijing, the drowning of 14 people in Xinjiang, and other major incidents, which have aroused great attention from Comrade ***.
After a thorough investigation, General Zhang Zhen discovered the problems existing in the training management and grassroots construction of the troops, and expressed profound remorse and self-reproach for them. Subsequently, General Zhang Zhen discussed these issues with Comrade Zhang Zhen and adopted a series of improvement measures to strengthen the ideological and political construction of the army and play a positive role in promoting the development of the army.
Just as Marshal asked Marshal to help him back then, Comrade Zhang Zhen asked General Zhang Zhen to help Comrade Zhang, all for the needs of the country and the people, and out of a deep sense of responsibility and mission for the country and the people.
**Before his death, he repeatedly admonished *** Marshal to fully cooperate with the work of Comrade ***. Similarly, when General Zhang Zhen was about to retire, Comrade ** also instructed him to continue to serve the country.
General Zhang Zhen, who accepted this instruction, worked for another six years until 1998, when he was 82 years old, officially retired. It is precisely because of the selfless dedication and continuous struggle of the revolutionary pioneers of all generations that our country has gradually moved toward prosperity.