During the 10-year special period, many important leaders of the party and the state were wrongly criticized, and some were even framed to death during this period.
If these red representatives could not be spared in the turmoil, let alone the old friends of the former Kuomintang who returned to New China after liberation, they were even more difficult to be brutalized by the "Gang of Four".
Even in such a period when black and white were reversed, there were still many people who dared to speak the truth, and there was such a person, who had an extraordinary friendship with the great man, was called the "General of Peace", and had loyalty and courage higher than ordinary people, and this person was Zhang Zhizhong.
On the National Day of 1967, Zhang Zhizhong came to Tiananmen Square to attend the National Day ceremony with illness. He could not have come, but he just wanted to say a few words to ***.
On the same day, Zhang Zhizhong, who was sitting in a wheelchair, saw *** with vigorous steps and said straight to the point.
**, your old man is walking too fast, I can't keep up! Now more than 5% of the cadres have been defeated. Many of our old friends and marshals were brought down. What should you old man do? ”
Hearing this, ** responded with a smile:
Brother Wen Bai! Don't worry, we can find out! ”
Then, Zhang Zhizhong slowly stood up, but he didn't talk to *** again. The whole person looked very unhappy. To Zhang Zhizhong's surprise, this would be the last time they would meet.
In the eyes of many people, the short conversation mentioned above does not explain anything, but they do not know that in an environment where everyone is in danger at that time, few people dare to admonish so directly*** Zhang Zhizhong's courage is far more than that.
In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, ** often called him "a good friend of Santo Yan'an". Although he was a high-ranking Kuomintang general, he never participated in the ** war and always advocated the cooperation of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. During the negotiations in Chongqing, he ensured the safety of ***, and the three trips to Yan'an were all evidence.
After the breakdown of the Peking peace talks, ** and *** did their best to keep Zhang Zhizhong in Beijing to avoid a repeat of Zhang Xueliang's tragedy. Since then, Zhang Zhizhong's life has been closely related to New China. He served as vice chairman of the Northwest Military and Political Commission and vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.
Because of this, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he had the most profound exchanges with *** and ***, and in the past 20 years, Zhang Zhizhong has made suggestions to *** many times.
For example, when contemplating and discussing the name of the country, Zhang Zhizhong suggested that "People's Republic of China" be adopted. The critical moment of determining the national flag was also Zhang Zhizhong's words, which made *** and others choose the five-star red flag as the national flag.
For another example, in September 1954, before the opening of the first session of the National People's Congress, Zhang Zhizhong learned that he was not going to speak, and he tried hard to persuade him.
This NPC is the first real people's congress in Chinese history, you are the host at the opening of ***, how can you not speak? "
Although *** refused to speak until the meeting, at the opening ceremony, he still came to talk about it, and it became a beautiful talk for a while.
In the eyes of *** and ***, Zhang Zhizhong is a well-deserved patriot.
Just when Zhang Zhizhong was determined to contribute to the construction of New China, ten years of turmoil surprised this patriotic general who had gone through vicissitudes. Even so, he firmly believes that *** and *** have their own proportions.
Although *** did everything possible to protect Zhang Zhizhong with the support of ***, his life was once stirred up by the Red Guards, and he said with great regret about this.
For years to come, "It's going to be a big joke!" ”
At this point, let's take a look at the friendship between Prime Minister *** and Zhang Zhizhong. Even if you are haggard by the storm, you must do your best to maintain social stability. He is still sparing no effort to protect Zhang Zhizhong.
Zhang Zhizhong is a good friend of our party. He came to Yan'an three times. During the negotiations in Chongqing, he personally picked up *** and contributed to ensuring the safety of ***! He is our friend, not our enemy! ”
Thanks to these shelters, General Zhang Zhizhong avoided brutal ** during the special period of ten years, but his spirit quickly collapsed in the unprecedented wind and rain, and he was often confined to a wheelchair all day.
In those dark years, General Zhang Zhizhong asked his son Zhang Yichun about the situation outside almost every night, and cared about who was defeated. After hearing that *** and *** had been defeated, he wrote a handwritten letter to ***, which was intercepted out of his protection.
The situation in the country and society has become more and more turbulent by the 'Gang of Four', and Zhang Zhizhong has become more and more worried about this. Looking back on his friendship with *** and our party for many years, he consciously said a lot to ***, he must fulfill the responsibility of a friend, and finally reminded ***
Therefore, his meeting with the Tiananmen Square of *** is also mentioned above.
Since then, Zhang Zhizhong's health has become worse and worse, and his son Zhang Yichun has clear memories of this:
Father did not understand for a long time that he did not have any serious illness, just long-term unhappiness and was always uncomfortable! ”
Regardless of whether he took Zhang Zhizhong's words to heart at the beginning, the weight of this "peace general" in ***'s heart is always very heavy. Unfortunately, such a general, who loves the party and the country so much, has never been involved in any factional disputes in his life, and has not seen the day when the gloom will dissipate.
In April 1969, General Zhang Zhizhong died. ** and other forces do not allow *** to set up a mourning hall and a memorial service for him. Even so, ** withstood the pressure and sent Zhang Zhizhong on his last journey with dignity.