Zhao Erlu spoke up for Mr. Peng, what happened
At the Lushan Conference in 1959, Mr. Peng was wrongly criticized, which made General Zhao Erlu very sad. He firmly stated that Mr. Peng's opinion was correct and should not be blamed in any way.
However, it is regrettable that General Zhao Erlu's upright speech for President Peng was also wrongly criticized. So, what was the fate of General Zhao Erlu later?
General Zhao Erlu, a native of Shanxi, participated in five anti-encirclement and suppression operations of the Red Army. During his time in the Red Army, he gradually grew from a commander to a quartermaster in charge of logistics, and participated in the Long March with the troops.
When the Red Army crossed the Jiajin Mountain, due to the long and rapid march, the clothing was thin and the supplies were scarce. To cope with the cold weather, the Red Army needed adequate cotton clothing and supplies.
However, cloth and cotton are not available locally. Zhao Erlu discovered the local wool resources, so he used silver yuan to buy wool from herdsmen. These wools were used to weave sweaters, woolen pants and wool hats, which solved the problem of the Red Army's lack of cotton clothes to climb over the snowy mountains, relieved their urgent needs, and was praised by the best.
During the anti-Japanese period, Zhao Erlu served as the deputy minister of the General Supply Department of the Eighth Route Army, and he used flexible and mobile strategies to personally go to Taiyuan and other places to raise first-class ammunition and military supplies, providing sufficient strategic materials for the Eighth Route Army and making important contributions.
In November 1937, General Zhao Erlu served as the commander of the 2nd Division of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, and with his witty and flexible tactics, he defeated the enemy in the mobile war and won the victory of the "Eight-Way Siege" anti-encirclement and suppression operation.
He created an anti-Japanese guerrilla zone in northeastern Shanxi Province centered on Wutai Mountain. In May 1945, he led his troops to launch the "Yanbei Campaign", successfully breaking through the three blockade lines painstakingly operated by the enemy and expanding the Yanbei Liberated Area.
In August of the same year, General Zhao Erlu led his troops to participate in the large-scale operation against the Japanese army and liberated many county seats. In the War of Liberation, General Zhao Erlu served as the chief of staff of the North China Military Region, and assisted the commander in organizing and directing the Battle of Qingfengdian and the Battle of Liberation of Shijiazhuang.
He not only provided strong logistical support for the troops on the front line, but also assisted the generals in the front to complete the siege operation in the battle to liberate Shijiazhuang, and summed up the experience of the siege operation, which provided valuable experience for the follow-up troops.
He also participated in the command of the Pingjin Campaign. In February 1949, he served as the second chief of staff of the Fourth Field Army, and fought all the way from the North China Plain to Guangxi with the Fourth Field Army, and stayed on the front line in Guangxi as the commander-in-chief of the suppression of bandits, successfully completed the work of suppressing bandits, and restored local public order.
General Zhao Erlu is a legendary figure who narrowly missed the evaluation of the Founding General Award for his withdrawal from the military system. However, it was thanks to the great man's hand-picking that his name was able to reappear in the list of founding generals.
However, it is interesting to note that despite being elected general, General Zhao Erlu rarely wears a general's gown, why is that?
Under the repeated questioning of his daughter Zhao Jiajia, General Zhao Erlu revealed the real reason why he did not often wear the general's dress. He said: "Every time I see my general's dress, I think of those comrades who died bravely.
What do I do compared to them? There are too many comrades who have sacrificed, and none of them are worse than me! General Zhao's daughter was shocked, but also confused.
Until she suddenly remembered her father's words and what her fathers used to say: "We are nothing great, we are just survivors of war." Combined with her father's words, it dawned on her that the founding generals of their generation had never felt that they were great, but that they had survived the war years.
Most of them never boast about themselves, they always keep the sacrificed comrades-in-arms in their hearts, and they never forget the comrades-in-arms who live and die with them for a moment. General Zhao Erlu always remembered the comrades-in-arms who sacrificed beside him, and he used his surviving lives to live for those comrades-in-arms who sacrificed, so he worked hard all the time and served the country and the people wholeheartedly.
In 1959, at the Lushan Conference, Mr. Peng was unfairly criticized, and General Zhao Erlu spoke up and strongly supported Mr. Peng, believing that Mr. Peng dared to tell the truth and was not wrong.
However, General Zhao Erlu was wrongly criticized for this, and no matter how much he checked, he could not pass. In the end, after the personal intervention of the great man, General Zhao Erlu returned to work.
General Zhao Erlu has always devoted himself to his work with the spirit of going all out, even in the special era of noisy and complicated environment, he still pays full attention, as if he wants to continue the value of life for his sacrificed comrades.
However, it may have been that he was too focused on his work, and eventually fell ill in the office and unfortunately passed away. When he was found, he had no vital signs, his right hand still holding a cigarette, and the expression on his face was still in a contemplative state, which made people feel extremely distressed.
General Zhao Erlu was only 62 years old when he died.
The deeds of General Zhao Erlu have inspired generations of young people, especially when people are moved and shocked when they understand the reasons why he is reluctant to wear the general's uniform and the details of his advocacy for President Peng at the Lushan Conference.