On August 27, 1998, General He Dongsheng, the founding major general of the People's Republic of China, died of illness in Changsha, Hunan Province.
After the death of the old general, Chen Ling, the wife of General He Dongsheng, solemnly called her two children, "Sister He Mao" and "Younger Brother He Jun", to her.
The two brothers and sisters looked at their mother, who was very serious at this time, and did not know what her mother was going to say to them.
Mrs. Chen Ling looked at her two children and said in a very solemn tone, "Zi'er, Jun'er, today I tell you one thing, don't get excited, your father is not your biological father, your biological father died heroically in the liberation war." ”
Chen Ling's words were like a thunderbolt on a sunny day, and both He Mo and He Jun were on the spot, and after a long time they did not react.
General He Dongsheng
General He Dongsheng has treated a pair of children very fondly over the years, never scolded the two, and has always vigorously supported the choice of the two, and no one can see that General He Dongsheng is not the biological father of these two children.
So, who is he And Jun's biological father? Why would General He Dongsheng be willing to raise children for others? What are the hidden secrets in between?
This story also begins with He Dongsheng's acquaintance with the father of the two children.
When the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out, He Dongsheng became acquainted with Du Guanghua
On December 12, 1936, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng gave military advice to Chiang Kai-shek in Lintong, Xi'an.
Chiang Kai-shek, who had come to supervise the First Army and the Northeast Army in encircling and suppressing the revolutionary base areas in northern Shaanxi, was detained, which is known in history as the Xi'an Incident.
Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng took a group photo
Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng jointly put forward eight political propositions for resisting Japan and saving the country, forcing Chiang Kai-shek to resist Japan.
After the peaceful settlement of the Xi'an Incident, China's Anti-Japanese National United Front was established, the Central Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army, and He Dongsheng served as the leader of the teaching brigade of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army at this time.
As the anti-Japanese situation in China became more and more severe, the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army went to the anti-Japanese front to open up anti-Japanese base areas to fight against the Japanese puppet army.
He Dongsheng thus became acquainted with Du Guanghua, who was also in the 115th Division, and the two participated in the Battle of Pingxingguan together, achieving the first major victory since the War of Resistance Against Japan, and Du Guanghua was the biological father of He Mo and He Jun.
Du Guanghua
In June 1938, He Dongsheng and Du Guanghua followed Xiao Hua, commander of the Anti-Japanese Advance Column of the Eighth Route Army, across the Fenhe River, across the Tongpu Railway, across the entire Taihang Mountains, across the Jinpu Railway, and into the Jilu Plain, where the Japanese puppet army was stubborn, to carry out the anti-Japanese struggle.
He Dongsheng and Du Guanghua had been fighting with Xiao Hua in the early days of arriving in Shandong, and He Dongsheng was the regimental chief of staff of the 7th Regiment at that time.
Du Guanghua was the battalion commander of the 686th Regiment of the 343rd Brigade of the 115th Division, and although the two were not in the same unit, they often cooperated with each other during combat, so their exchanges were relatively close.
Group photo of the 686th Regiment of the 115th Division
Du Guanghua was born in 1915 in a poor peasant family in Dujiaya, Fengyi Township, Langzhong City, Sichuan Province, and although the family was poor, Du Guanghua's father still gritted his teeth and insisted that Du Guanghua attend a private school for a period of time.
Du Guanghua suffered from the suffering of the people at the bottom of the old society and formed a stubborn and resolute character, And Du Guanghua always wanted to change the current situation of the oppression of the grass-roots peasants in society, so he joined the peasant movement in 1931.
In late October 1932, Du Guanghua joined the armed guerrilla group led by the comrade organization of our underground party, and then followed the guerrilla group to participate in the huge "Shengbao Uprising", which underwent the tempering of revolutionary blood and fire.
Shengbao Uprising Martyrs Memorial Hall
The following year, the Red Fourth Front entered Sichuan, and Du Guanghua immediately joined the ranks of the Red Army and began his career in the Red Army.
Due to his young age, Du Guanghua was initially only a flag bearer, and later became a machine gunner, and when he dared to fight and launch a charge on the battlefield, he ran faster with a machine gun than a soldier charging with a large knife, and then Du Guanghua followed the Red Army to participate in the Long March.
After the end of the Long March, the Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army, and Du Guanghua became a company commander of the 686th Regiment of the 343rd Brigade of the 115th Division, and later participated in the Battle of Pingxingguan and the annihilation of the Eastward Advance Column of the Eighth Route Army in Liangshan, Shandong, and was promoted to battalion commander for his bravery and courage.
Photo of the Eighth Route Army marching eastward to resist the Japanese column
He Dongsheng was transferred to the 686 Regiment and became a partner with Du Guanghua
After the team entered Linyi, Du Guanghua successively served as the chief of staff of the 686 Regiment, and at this time, He Dongsheng, who served as the chief of staff of the 7th Regiment, was transferred to the 686 Regiment as the regimental commander, and the two comrades who had known each other for a long time officially began to fight side by side.
Because the two had similar experiences, and both had a revolutionary heart, and their temperaments and personalities were similar, the two talked about everything and often chatted together to discuss changes in the situation of combat against the enemy.
On January 26, 1940, He Dongsheng and Du Guanghua received orders from their superiors to lead the 686th Regiment to cooperate with the brother troops to attack Tancheng.
At that time, the 686th Regiment was responsible for the rescue mission, and the brother troops of friendly neighbors were responsible for the siege of the city, but the Japanese puppet army that had been entrenched here for a long time was stubbornly resisted with strong fortifications and sophisticated weapons and equipment.
The soldiers of the Eighth Route Army at the time of the attack on Tancheng ate
Du Guanghua, who was then the regimental chief of staff, immediately suggested that He Dongsheng ask his superiors for instructions and entrust the main offensive task to the 686 regiment and the brother troops would be responsible for reinforcement.
He Dongsheng agreed to Du Guanghua's suggestion and immediately reported to his superiors, in fact, the 686 Regiment at that time only had 4 infantry companies, a special service company and an artillery platoon.
In view of the fact that the troops who were in charge of the main attack had failed to conquer the enemy's city gate towers several times in a row, the superiors replaced the troops responsible for the main attack to preserve the living strength of the troops.
After receiving the main offensive task, He Dongsheng immediately organized the strength of the whole regiment to carry out a strong explosion attack on the enemy's offensive and defensive positions, and Du Guanghua decided to personally lead the troops to concentrate the explosives of the whole regiment and blast the selected positions in order to be able to complete the tasks assigned by his superiors.
The Eighth Route Army invaded Tancheng, and the Japanese army surrendered to our army
Before the attack was launched, He Dongsheng solemnly said to Du Guanghua: "We must come back alive." ”
Du Guanghua nodded, and then led the charging warriors to rush to the city wall with explosives.
After the explosives exploded, a corner of the enemy's city wall collapsed, and Du Guanghua shouted: "Comrades rush." ”
So he took the lead in leading the soldiers to rush into Tancheng, and in this battle our army captured and annihilated thousands of Japanese puppet troops, providing valuable experience for our army's subsequent offensive battles.
Soon after the end of the Battle of Tancheng, Du Guanghua was promoted to deputy commander of the 686 Regiment, and He Dongsheng went to the first branch of the Chinese Min Anti-Japanese Military and Political University as the regimental commander.
The first year of the anti-university school crossed the river to prepare to enter Taixi
Although the two were together for only a few years, the revolutionary friendship was often noble and deep, and even if the contact time was short, it could make the two have a deep friendship.
In 1944, near the end of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Du Guanghua had become the commander of the 14th Regiment of the Jiaodong Military Region and went to Guo Cheng to resolutely attack the Japanese puppet army in the area of Changsha Fort.
He Dongsheng had already become the chief of staff of the Second Division of the Shandong Military Region at this time, and He Dongsheng could often hear them praising Du Guanghua from the leaders of the military region and the command headquarters.
Before the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Du Guanghua married Chen Ling under the mediation of the organization, and He Dongsheng at that time had been transferred to the second division of the first column of the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army as a division commander, so he could not attend the wedding of his old comrades-in-arms.
However, after He Dongsheng heard this news, he was still sincerely happy for his old comrade-in-arms.
The Eighth Route Army of the Jiaodong Military Region advanced into the northeast
In September 1945, Du Guanghua led a unit of the Jiaodong Military Region across the Bohai Bay and advanced into the northeast, and in January of the following year, it was renamed the Fourth Column of the Northeast Democratic United Army, with Du Guanghua as the brigade commander of the first brigade.
Although the two old comrades-in-arms were in the northeast, they were not in the same column, so they could not meet each other.
At that time, although the Kuomintang and the Communists had already signed the "Double Tenth Agreement," the troops of the Kuomintang reactionaries in the northeast still had a grudge against our army.
In early January 1946, the Kuomintang reactionaries in the Liaoning region forcibly occupied Yingkou in the liberated areas of our army, and in order to retake Yingkou, the Fourth Column of the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army organized the superior strength of six regiments and launched a campaign to attack Yingkou.
Du Guanghua led his first brigade as the main offensive task, annihilating and capturing the enemy defenders, and successfully liberated Yingkou City.
Yingkou was victorious in the battle
Du Yuming sent three large armies to besiege the liberated areas of southern Manchuria
In June 1946, Chiang Kai-shek, prompted by the US government, openly tore up the Double Tenth Agreement and provoked a full-scale civil war, and ordered the Kuomintang army to launch an all-out attack on the liberated areas of our army.
The Nationalist army, which had the superiority of troops in the northeast region, immediately launched an offensive against the areas controlled by the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army.
In July of the same year, the 3 brigades of the 4th Northeast Democratic Column were changed to 3 divisions, and Du Guanghua was appointed commander of the 10th Division of the 4th Column of the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army, and led the troops to begin fighting the reactionary army.
In mid-October 1946, Du Yuming, commander of the Kuomintang Northeast Security, concentrated nearly 100,000 troops in 8 divisions of the Kuomintang army and launched an attack on the Liberated Area of Southern Manchuria, where the Fourth Column was located.
Attempted to eliminate or expel the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army from the Liberated Areas of Southern Manchuria and then launch an offensive against the Liberated Areas of Northern Manchuria.
Du Yuming sent a large army to attack the liberated areas of southern Manchuria
After receiving this news, Lin Biao, commander of the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army, immediately formulated a plan to evacuate Andong, Fengcheng and other cities, concentrate forces on carrying out mobile defensive warfare in the eastern mountains, and seek opportunities to annihilate the enemy in the battle, hoping to break Du Yuming's heavy attack.
After receiving the order, Hu Qicai, commander of the Fourth Column of the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army, led the two divisions of the 11th and 12th Divisions to which the Fourth Column belonged, each carrying out a movement defensive battle with one unit, and blocking the attack of the Kuomintang army's middle road troops during the movement, so as to achieve the purpose of delaying the Kuomintang army's attack and covering the concentration of the main force of the army and the transfer of the rear organs.
The main force of the Fourth Column took cover and waited for the opportunity to launch a counter-offensive against the Kuomintang reactionary army.
The 4th Column of the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army marched covertly
On 23 October, the main force of the reactionary 25th Division had captured Saimaji, while the enemy 2nd Division was blocked in the area north of Fengcheng.
The enemy's Fifty-second Army thought that the main force of our fourth column was in the area of Fengcheng, so it ordered the 25th Division to leave two battalions of troops to garrison the vicinity of Saimaji, and the other troops turned to Fengcheng in an attempt to annihilate the fourth column of our army in conjunction with the 2nd Division, thus achieving the goal of capturing Andong.
The 25th Division of the Nationalist 52nd Army was equipped with all-American armaments
On the night of October 24, Hu Qicai, commander of the Fourth Column, immediately ordered three regiments of the 11th And 12th Divisions to attack the Nationalist defenders of Saimaji, annihilating more than 200 of them and occupying Saimaji.
After receiving the news that saimaji had been captured by our army, the enemy Fifty-second Army immediately ordered the 25th Division to return to Saimaji and look for the main force of the fourth column in an attempt to annihilate the main force of the fourth column.
Du Guanghua made a great contribution to the Battle of Xinkailing
On October 27, the enemy 25th Division gathered all its forces to attack the Saimaji area, and when they reached the Shuanglingzi area, the 4th Column immediately launched a surprise attack on the 25th Division with the strength of 5 regiments, and after a day of fierce fighting between the two sides, our army quickly withdrew from the battle.
The next day, the enemy 25th Division reoccupied the Saimaji area and on the 29th marched in an attack formation along the Saimaji-Kuandian Highway.
The soldiers of the fourth column observed the enemy situation
At this time, the Fourth Column had completed the task of covering the transfer of personnel from our Army's Dandong organs, and the 10th Division, which had been sent to cooperate with the Third Column to block the Kuomintang Army's Left Road Army, was also about to be rebuilt, and the Fourth Column was ready to quickly concentrate the strength of the entire column at any time.
Therefore, the commander of the Fourth Column, Hu Qicai, decided to take advantage of the weakness of the enemy's 25th Division's light enemy and the depth of the lone army, to lure the 25th Division to the Xinkailing area and then encircle and annihilate.
Therefore, Hu Qicai immediately ordered the main forces of the 12th Division and the 10th Division to all drive to the Shaojiabaozi and Bolinchuan areas northeast of Xinkailing to assemble covertly, and set up a pocket formation to wait for the 11th Division to lure the enemy 25th Division into the pocket formation, and then surround it.
The 25th Division of the Kuomintang Fifty-second Army was the ace division under Chiang Kai-shek and was known as the "Thousand Mile Colt", and the division commander Li Zhengyi was even more arrogant and arrogant.
Captured Li Zhengyi (first from left) with officers and soldiers
The Nationalist forces in Shenyang indicated that the 25th Division had advanced alone and was at risk of being encircled, and asked if the 25th Division needed reinforcements.
At this time, Li Zhengyi was already surrounded by our regiment, but he replied: "My position is impregnable, I only need shells, not reinforcements." ”
Before the Battle of Xinkailing began, Du Guanghua led the soldiers of the Tenth Division to return to the alkali factory area on a long march, at this time the soldiers of the Tenth Division were very tired, but the Fourth Column Headquarters issued an order to the Tenth Division at this time:
Troops had to rush to the Shaojiabao sub-area of Xinkailing within a day for a secret buildup.
After receiving the order, Du Guanghua did not dare to be idle, and immediately mobilized the soldiers to march to Xinkailing, which was 130 miles away from the alkali plant.
In November, the temperature in the northeast could already reach more than minus 20 degrees, but Du Guanghua led the soldiers of the 10th Division into the pre-ambush position of Shaojiabaozi at an alarming speed.
The Eighth Route Army ambushed in the Xinkailing area
On 1 November, after the enemy 25th Division entered our pocket position, our army immediately launched an attack on the enemy 25th Division.
Immediately after the battle began, the enemy 25th Division occupied the top of Laoye Ridge in Xinkailing and established a strong position.
The 10th Division led by Du Guanghua was responsible for the main offensive task, but after a day and a night of fierce fighting between the two sides, because the soldiers of the 10th Division were very tired, several charges were suppressed by the enemy with strong firepower advantage.
Du Guanghua looked at the fallen warriors and was very anxious in his heart.
At this time, although Li Zhengyi did not ask the Kuomintang troops on the Shenyang side for support, he found that the Fifty-second Army, the main force of the Fourth Column, had sent other troops to the Xinkailing area.
The situation on the battlefield was rapidly changing, so our army had to end the battle before reinforcements sent by the enemy's Fifty-second Army arrived.
The Nationalist 52nd Army marched
Therefore, Du Guanghua resolutely decided: Commanders at all levels of the 10th Division personally came to the 1st Line to direct the operation, and in addition to leaving a few people in the division headquarters, all the clerks, guards, and correspondents went into battle to fight with the enemy.
By dawn on 2 November, the 28th Regiment of the 10th Division had launched several charge against the enemy at Laoye Ridge, but had not penetrated the enemy positions.
Du Guanghua immediately sent Duan Ran, chief of the operations section, to the front-line position of the 28th Regiment to supervise the battle, vowing to take LaoyeLing, Duan Ran adjusted the combat deployment according to Du Guanghua's instructions, and personally led the commando team of the 28th Regiment to attack the enemy's position.
The 10th Division immediately launched a charge and launched a white-knife battle with the enemy, in which the 10th Division annihilated more than 8,000 enemy troops, creating an example of an integrated division of our army completely annihilating the enemy army since the Liberation War.
Li Zhengyi, the commander of the enemy's 25th Division, disguised himself as a gangster and tried to escape, but was still captured alive by the soldiers of our army.
Commendation telegram from the Central Military Commission
Mao Zedong of the Central Military Commission and the Party Central Committee issued a general commendation for the achievements of the 10th Division in the Battle of Xinkailing.
In the Battle of Sanbao Linjiang, Du Guanghua was unfortunately killed
Commanders and fighters of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) who were studying the situation between the enemy and ourselves during the Battle of The Second Bao Linjiang
After the battle of Linjiang, Du Yuming, under the pressure of Chiang Kai-shek, gathered the strength of five divisions of the Provisional 21st, 91st, 2nd, New 22nd, and 195th Divisions on February 13, 1947, and launched the third attack on Linjiang in four routes.
Du Guanghua received orders from his superiors to lead the 10th Division and the 3rd Column to cooperate again and jointly counterattack the invading enemy.
On February 19, the 10th Division, in conjunction with the 3rd Column, drove out all the enemy troops in Xiashuidonggou, after which Du Guanghua quickly led the 10th Division to advance towards Dalong claw ditch and occupied three high ground on the west side of xialong claw ditch.
By 22 February, the 10th Division, together with the 3rd Column, had crushed the enemy forces of 6 battalions in Seongji, Goryeo.
The 10th Division in the Battle of Sanbao Linjiang
The enemy troops who broke through to the south of Goryeo Chengzi were surrounded by our army and desperately resisted, and the fierce battle continued until dusk, and the enemy's 91st Division also pounced on the 571st heights of tonghua Xiaohuanggou of our army, and the 10th Division was attacked on its stomach and back.
Faced with the onslaught of the enemy on both sides, Du Guanghua was not afraid of hardships and dangers to command the battle in front-line positions, and repelled several fierce attacks by the enemy army.
At dusk, when Du Guanghua was observing the enemy's movements in the small desert ditch, he was hit by a 60 shells of the enemy army, and Du Guanghua was unfortunately and heroically sacrificed.
At that time, the situation of the struggle between the enemy and ourselves was very grim, and if the enemy army heard the news that Du Guanghua, the tiger general of our army, had sacrificed himself, it would certainly have been widely publicized, and this would not have been conducive to the military morale of our army.
Therefore, our army blocked the news of Du Guanghua's sacrifice, and did not announce the news to the soldiers until after the battle of Sibao Linjiang.
Chen Ling was widowed and had a hard time living alone, and He Dongsheng was willing to be the adopted son of his comrade-in-arms
When Du Guanghua died, Chen Ling was already pregnant with Liujia and took her daughter Du Dongzheng, who had just turned one year old.
Xiao Hua, then deputy commander of the South Manchuria Military Region, reported to her the news of Du Guanghua's sacrifice, Chen Ling fainted several times, and the leaders of the military region advised her to be strong, after all, she still had two children.
Having said that, under the circumstances at that time, it was very difficult for a woman to live with two children, and even if the families of the Fourth Column took good care of Chen Ling, it was not a long-term solution.
General Peng Jiaqing
Therefore, Peng Jiaqing, who was the political commissar of the Fourth Column at the time, proposed to find another husband for Chen Ling, which also received the unanimous consent of the Fourth Column Headquarters, and the burden of reorganizing Chen Ling's family was handed over to Peng Jiaqing.
At that time, there was no suitable candidate for the Southern Manchuria Military Region, because most of the officers and men at that time were already married, and then the age was not appropriate.
So Peng Jiaqing set his sights on other military regions, and finally found He Dongsheng, who was then the commander of the 2nd Division of the First Column of the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army, and Peng Jiaqing found He Dongsheng and explained to He Dongsheng the news of Du Guanghua's sacrifice and Chen Ling's situation.
He Dongsheng had already learned of the death of his old comrade-in-arms, but he did not expect that Chen Ling's situation would be so difficult, because he had fought side by side with Du Guanghua for several years, and he also missed his old comrade-in-arms very much, so he directly agreed to Peng Jiaqing's proposal.
In June 1947, under the witness of many military leaders of the South Manchuria Military Region, He Dongsheng and Chen Ling held a wedding.
On the night of the wedding, Chen Ling hugged her two-year-old daughter and her son, who was just two months old, and said to He Dongsheng: "We have dragged you down." ”
He Dongsheng and Chen Ling took a group photo when they got married
He Dongsheng knew that Chen Ling felt guilty, and solemnly said to Chen Ling, "Master Du's flesh and bones are my flesh and bones, you can rest assured." ”
In the days that followed, He Dongsheng did exactly what he said, and there would be no psychological problems in order to protect the two children.
He Dongsheng changed Du Dongzheng's name to He Mo and Du Yongnian to He Jun, and also told people around him not to mention it, so as not to cause harm to the two children.
After He Dongsheng, he regarded both children as his own, and for the sake of the two children, He Dongsheng did not ask Chen Ling for another child in his life.
Watching the children gradually grow up, He Dongsheng's heart was very happy, and he thought that this was enough to comfort the spirit of the old comrades in heaven.
In August 1998, when General He Dongsheng was seriously ill, he confessed to Chen Ling that he could tell them the origins of the two children at the right time.
It was also time for them to know what kind of hero their biological father was, and Chen Ling cried and agreed to General He Dongsheng's last wish.
In the spring of 2001, He Jun contacted the Tonghua government and the local military district, confirmed the location of his father's sacrifice, and paid homage to his biological father Du Guanghua with his wife Li Shuyun.
Du Guanghua's daughter He Mo and son-in-law Li Rui sacrificed their father at Du Guanghua's place
On March 7, He Mo, then deputy division secretary of the Military Attaché Department of the Embassy in Belgium, and her husband Li Rui also came to the place where Du Guanghua was sacrificed and paid homage.
He Mo threw himself in grief at the land where Du Guanghua was at the time of his sacrifice, shouting, "Daddy, your daughter has come to see you!" Dad, daughter came too late. ”