In August 1938, the "National Defense Drama Society" of the Jizhong Military Region of the Eighth Route Army was performing a drama for the local masses. Suddenly, a group of civilian clothes armed with guns broke in, apparently local bandits.
The actors were nervous because they didn't have ** in their hands. However, President Gao Derun was secretly happy in his heart: "They came so well!" ”
Hebei, the hometown of martial arts, has produced many generous and tragic people since ancient times. When the July Seven Incident broke out, the Japanese invaders trampled on the Jizhong Plain, and the men of Hebei took action one after another, and overnight, thousands of large and small armed forces sprung up like mushrooms after a rain.
Although these armed forces are mainstream anti-Japanese, their components are diverse and mixed. Some were originally bandits, some were remnants of the Northeast Army and Chiang's army, some were hooligans, and some were landlords.
Among them, the "Beilianzhuang Self-Defense Army" in Mijiawu Town, Xiongxian County is the most famous and the strongest. They were financed by the surrounding tyrants, and the important purpose was to defend the family property. Their leader, Zhang Runchuan, was an officer of the Northeast Army and a capable general under Guo Songling, and was valued by Zhang Xueliang.
However, after Guo Songling failed to resist Feng and was killed, Zhang Runchuan returned to his hometown, and after the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, his blood was boiling, and he decided to pick up the ** anti-Japanese resistance. During the Anti-Japanese War, in addition to the Eighth Route Army, there was also a very influential team called the "People's Army" in Hebei, led by Zhang Yinwu, a senior general of the Jiang Army.
Most of the Hebei heroes joined the Eighth Route Army, but a few also joined the "People's Army".
General Wang Ping (right) After Guo Songling's defeat against Feng, Zhang Runchuan hesitated, and neither team joined. This defeat left a shadow in his heart, which made him worry about failure and adopt a wait-and-see attitude.
However, many local landlords and wealthy households came to his door and asked him to form the "Beilianzhuang Self-Defense Army", the main purpose of which was to protect their property from being violated. The opponents of this team included not only the Japanese, but also the Chiang army and the Eighth Route Army.
After thinking about it, Zhang Runchuan agreed to the other party's request, but he understood that it was not an easy task. Surrounded by a strong enemy, self-defense is quite difficult, and it is necessary to form a strong combat force.
These rich people have enough money, so ** is not a problem, this team has a lot of *** However, it is not only ** that determines the combat effectiveness, but also people.
In order to improve the combat effectiveness of the army, Zhang Runchuan had a big brain, and he came up with a good idea: let the backbone personnel of the army go to Japan for military training. Because he learned that Guo Songling, who was anti-Feng, had studied at the Japanese Military Academy and had managed the army well, he firmly believed that by learning from the Japanese, he could improve the combat effectiveness of the troops.
Zhang Runchuan explained to the Japanese: Our troops are for the purpose of self-defense, we will not take the initiative to attack you, we hope to cooperate with you, and our needs are to train our personnel.
At that time, the Japanese army had not yet gained a foothold in Hebei, and they thought it would be wise to cooperate with Zhang Runchuan, so they agreed to his request. Although Zhang Runchuan is not their friend, he is also unwilling to be their enemy.
As a result, Zhang Runchuan sent some personnel to Japan for military training. After these personnel returned, they began to train the "Beilianzhuang Self-Defense Army" in accordance with Japan's training methods, and remarkable results were achieved.
Wealthy families gathered in Mijiawu Town, which became the target of Chiang's troops and bandit forces in the surrounding counties of Xiongxian County, trying to rob the local wealth. The first to challenge Mi's housework was Gao Shuncheng, the bandit leader of Renqiu County.
Gao Shuncheng occupied the top of the mountain before the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, and his team was very combative. In the spring of 1938, Gao Shuncheng's troops numbered as many as 10,000 people, and he was the elite of Hebei.
He prided himself on his large number of generals, and in the spring of 1938 launched a surprise attack on Mi's housework. However, Zhang Runchuan, who was born in the army and was proficient in military affairs, organized the team to rely on the walled walls around Beilianzhuang, so that Gao Shuncheng was bleeding.
Soon after, Zhang Yinwu, the commander of Boye's civilian army, also sent troops to attack, but the result was also unsuccessful. Zhang Yinwu is a student of the fifth phase of Baoding, and Fu Zuoyi is a classmate, he once served as the commander of the Jin Army, the commander, the commander of the Beiping garrison, the mayor of Beiping, etc., is a very outstanding figure in the military, his troops are basically regular army, and the combat effectiveness is stronger than Gao Shuncheng's troops.
However, Zhang Yinwu's troops also suffered a crushing defeat in this battle, and were beaten by the "Beilianzhuang Self-Defense Army" and were powerless. Both battles ended in Zhang Runchuan's victory, and his men were extremely proud, claiming that "the iron-clad Beilianzhuang is the hard-to-gnaw rice housework".
Wang Ping, political commissar of the Eighth Route Army's Jizhong Military Region, believed that this contingent could be won over and the Eighth Route Army's strength could be strengthened.
Wang Ping knew that Zhang Runchuan was a proud and arrogant person, and it was difficult to use conventional methods to work. After pondering it, he came up with a clever plan. He found Gao Derun, the president of the "National Defense Drama Society", and explained his thoughts to him in detail.
After Gao Derun heard this, he immediately went back to prepare. It only took one day for the drama club to choreograph a play called "Shooting Gao Shuncheng". The next day, the weather was sunny and cloudless, and the actors of the drama club set off with curtains, props and gas lamps on their backs, singing anti-Japanese songs all the way.
After a long march, finally at around 3 p.m., the troupe arrived at Mijiawu Village. In a courtyard in the northwest corner of the village, they quickly set up a stage.
Mi Jiawu is a large town of more than 3,000 people, and the performance that night attracted a large audience from the surrounding villages, and the number of spectators reached tens of thousands.
The troupe's program list includes three programs, including songs, the song "On the Songhua River" and the short drama "Defending Wanping", and the finale is their newly arranged live newspaper drama "Shooting Gao Shuncheng".
At the beginning of the performance, the venue seemed a little chaotic, but when the song "On the Songhua River" sounded, the whole venue suddenly fell silent, and everyone was immersed in the beautiful melody of the song.
During the performance, the audience watched it with relish and applauded from time to time. "Shooting Gao Shuncheng" is even more shocking, with ups and downs in the plot and exciting.
The play describes Gao Shuncheng blocking the road and robbing, ** people's daughters, mutilating the people, destroying the united front, doing many evils, arousing public anger, and being executed by the Eighth Route Army. After the performance, the audience was outraged by Gao Shuncheng's actions and shouted in unison: "The traitor insults the ancestors!" ”
The bandit leader has been stinking for 10,000 years! "Kill Gao Shuncheng and eliminate harm for the people!" The grand occasion of the performance shocked Zhang Runchuan, the commander of the Beilianzhuang Self-Defense Army, and he brought his subordinates to ** the next day.
The fate of the traitors in the play, the bravery of the Eighth Route Army, the pain of the people in the Northeast losing their homes, and the cruelty of the Japanese army were all vividly expressed, which deeply touched Zhang Runchuan.
Towards the end of the performance, a herald with a gun appeared backstage: "Who is the head of the troupe, we Commander Zhang want to meet." When Gao Derun heard the secret joy, he got up and said, "I am, please invite Commander Zhang in." ”
Before the end of the performance, the burly Zhang Runchuan asked to speak to the audience, and his request was agreed to by Gao Derun. Zhang Runchuan excitedly walked on stage and told the audience that their original intention of setting up the team was to protect their families and homes, but they could not be left alone, and the only way out was the War of Resistance.
His speech received warm applause, which also made Zhang Runchuan more determined to join the Eighth Route Army. On the morning of the next day, Gao Derun, Sun Zhiyuan, director of the Political Department, and Meng Qingshan, commander of the Fourth Army Division, went to Zhang Runchuan's home and further discussed with him the next move.
Meng Qingshan's history is also full of revolutionary colors, he served in Chiang's army, later participated in the revolution, and fought his way up to the position of commander of the Fourth Army division.
In 1938, General Meng Qingshan once said: "The revolution does not distinguish between high and low, as long as you have sincerity, you can contribute to the revolution." His words inspired a lot of people.
Soon after, Zhang Runchuan's team joined the 4th Army Divisional Formation and was incorporated into the newly established 3rd Detachment, and later joined the 120th Division led by **. This shows that as long as a person has firm conviction and courage, he can continue to advance on the road of revolution.