Chinese People's Liberation Army is a heroic team that has come from the flames of war. From the beginning of the Nanchang Uprising, the Communist Party of China began to lead the army independently, and by the victory of Jinggangshan, the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army became a resolute armed revolutionary force under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, and the spark of stars lit up on the land of China.
Subsequently, this unit experienced the Long March, the War of Resistance, and the War of Liberation, and all the way to bloody storms, all the way to suffering and glory, countless famous and fierce generals came into being, and countless young talents threw themselves into the revolution. Among them, there is a legendary figure who came from a poor peasant family but grew all the way to the general of the republic, and his life is full of legends, he is Hu Qicai.
I. The "Political Commissar" Who Came Out of a Poor Peasant Family
Hu Qicai did not call this name at the beginning, his family was poor, his ancestors were farmers who had been cultivating for generations, and he did not have his own land, his parents named him Hu Qicai, hoping that he could put up the fate of getting rid of poverty and survive in the chaotic world. In order to fulfill this simple wish, Hu Qicai's parents sent him to a private school.
Because the family was too poor, Hu Qicai only spent a few years in the private school, and then he had no choice but to drop out of school, repeat the fate of the previous generation, and work as a long-term worker in the landlord's house. It was also during this period that Hu Qi had the idea of joining the army and changing his destiny.
After the Nanchang Uprising, a revolutionary storm swept across the country, and a peasant riot broke out in Huang'an County, where Hu Qicai was located, and many oppressed peasant children joined in, including 15-year-old Hu Qicai. In 1930, Hu Qicai joined the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and became a small soldier in the Red First Army.
In the ensuing time, Hu Qicai followed the Red Army in constantly maneuvering with the Kuomintang troops in the vast mountains. In 1932, when Hu Qicai was pursuing the enemy army, his right arm was pierced by a bullet, and he could not straighten out and lost the ability to fight. Taking this special situation into account, the organization mobilized Hu Qicai to go to the rear to work, but Hu Qicai did not agree and insisted on staying at the front.
In order to restore the function of his right arm, Hu Qicai often secretly got up in the middle of the night and practiced horizontal bar in pain. After a period of training, Hu Qi finally regained his right arm function and returned to combat. Hu Qicai's outstanding performance was seen by the party organization, and he quickly approved his application to join the party and would appoint him as deputy company commander and political instructor.
Since then, Hu Qicai has made many meritorious contributions, and even led the company to successfully cover the transfer of Li Xiannian and other division leaders in the fourth anti-encirclement and suppression campaign. However, Hu Qicai's Red Fourth Front, due to Zhang Guotao's wrong leadership, suffered major damage, and many soldiers lost their precious lives. During this period, Hu Qicai showed his outstanding military talent.
In previous battles, Hu Qicai has undertaken urgent, difficult, dangerous and heavy tasks many times, slightly injured and could not get out of the line of fire, fought in bloody battles, and made great achievements. Especially in the process of the Red Fourth Front's march north, Hu Qicai repeatedly led the enemy, covered the safe transfer of the front's military organs, and saved the fire for the revolution. Hu Qicai was also promoted to political commissar of the 12th Division because of his outstanding performance. This peasant baby from a poor family became the "political commissar" of the Red Army in less than 5 years, which cannot be said to be a "legend".
2. Legendary figures who are active behind enemy lines
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, according to the requirements of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, the original Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army, which is what we often call the Eighth Route Army. Hu Qicai's 12th Division of the Red Fourth Front was also reorganized into the 770th Regiment of the 358th Brigade of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, with Hu Qicai as political commissar.
Hu Qicai was very famous within the Eighth Route Army, because he could not only fight wars, but also especially do ideological work. It was precisely because of this skill that Hu Qicai was soon sent to the most dangerous enemy lines to work in the enemy's hinterland. Here, Hu Qicai always led his troops to fight against the Japanese puppet army, annihilating hundreds of Japanese troops.
Especially in the battle against Yishui, Hu Qicai was fully prepared before the war and commanded effectively in wartime, which made the battle very successful and soon liberated Yishui. Subsequently, Hu Qicai also assisted the brigade commander in fighting a beautiful ambush near Gezhuang. Nearly 2,000 enemy troops were killed, and a hole was torn in the enemy's hinterland.
In this way, Hu Qicai persisted behind the enemy's back for several years, and finally, the War of Resistance came to an end. In the battle launched by the Luzhong Military Region, Hu Qicai gave full play to his good tactic of "encircling points to fight for assistance", and not only successfully uprooted the Japanese strongholds, but also annihilated all the Japanese troops who came to support. The local people also made up songs to publicize Hu Qicai's exploits, which said that Hu Qicai was very brave and liberated Yeyuan.
After the end of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Hu Qicai arrived in the northeast with the Shandong Military Region. This time, Hu Qicai was no longer just the regimental commander, but the commander of the 3rd Column of the Northeast People's Autonomous Army. This commander, who started as a small soldier and eventually became the commander of the leading side, will also let the enemy see the real ability in the northeast battlefield.
Third, Li Yunlong-style legendary figure
In recent years, many people have said that Hu Qi is a legendary figure of Li Yunlong's style, to a large extent, that Hu Qicai was born poor, down-to-earth, and grew into a general who led the army. There is also a part of him who is brave in battle, bold and careful, who has repeatedly seen through the enemy's conspiracies and won many battles, which is convincing. But this cannot be seen from the energy of the War of Resistance alone. Hu Qicai's most famous battle was the Battle of Tashan in the Liberation War.
In 1947, the Democratic Coalition Army in the northeast launched a counter-offensive against the Kuomintang troops, and Hu Qicai, as the head of the column, led the army to recover Tonghua, Benxi and other places, and made great contributions. At this time, the situation of the civil war had changed dramatically, and the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army was officially renamed the Northeast Field Army and began to plan the Liaoshen Campaign.
Friends who know the history of the Liberation War know that the most important node in the Liaoshen Campaign was the liberation of Jinzhou City, and the Battle of Tashan was the decisive battle. This is because the Northeast Field Army adopted the tactic of "closing the door and fighting dogs", Tashan is the gateway to Jinzhou, and only by holding Tashan and not allowing enemy reinforcements to come in can we smoothly "close the door and fight dogs" and liberate Jinzhou.
At this time, Lin Biao was the commander of the Northeast Field Army, and he recognized Hu Qicai's military command ability. Hu Qicai was ordered to lead the 4th Column and garrison Tashan between Jinzhou and Jinxi, and to resist the Nationalist Eastward Advance Corps at all costs. Moreover, in order for the main force to successfully complete the combat task, Hu Qicai needed to block the Kuomintang reinforcements for at least 6 days.
In many years of fighting, Hu Qicai was best at fighting guerrilla warfare, and it was the first time that such a frontal confrontation was commanded. But Hu Qicai was not timid, and gathered the leaders of the column overnight, studied the strategy all night, and finally formulated a perfect battle plan. In the battle, Hu Qicai was even more a pioneer, always holding on to his position, and finally together with the soldiers, he held Tashan.
In this battle, Hu Qicai's 4 columns were enough to block the strength of the 11 divisions of the Kuomintang and annihilated more than 6,000 enemy troops, making it impossible for these reinforcements to rush to Jinzhou, and watching the city of Jinzhou be retaken by the Northeast Field Army. This was Hu Qicai's last battle, and after this battle, Hu Qicai suffered from an old wound and had to go to the rear to recuperate. However, with the cultural level of a private school for several years, he has grown into a single-handed general, and it has to be said that he is a rare legend.
Text/Leyu
Reference: "Lin Biao named the tiger general Hu Qicai who guarded Tashan", Ma Rongsheng