For soldiers, they regard honor even more than life, especially those who participated in the War of Resistance, they were born and died on the battlefield in order for the people to live and work in peace and contentment. However, after the end of the war, they retreated and gradually faded out of people's sight, and no one even knew that they had thrown their heads and spilled their blood for the motherland.
"I don't want to cause trouble for the country, I just want to prove that I have fought Japanese devils, I have beaten old Chiang, and I am a soldier of the People's Republic of China!"
Hao Zhiquan, who is nearly 90 years old, told reporters around him, "After the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, I stored my archives and medals in the county archives, but a fire a few decades ago burned down..."
In the "four old" period, some impulsive people burned old books together with archives under the banner of burning old books, which is not new, but without archives, they cannot prove that they have carried guns, fought wars, and cannot enjoy the subsidies of national heroes of war.
"I'm not short of money, we're two old at home, and planting some land is enough for us to eat, and I just want people to know that I'm a soldier of Hao Sancheng's battalion."
Mention hao sancheng, the old man's eyes are moist, at the invitation of the reporter, he began to tell the unforgettable time of the war of resistance.
First, fulfill your wish and carry a gun to beat the Japanese devils
Hao Zhiquan was born in Yushe County, Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province, in the western foothills of Taihang Mountain. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Yushe County was an important base in the Taihang Mountain Revolutionary Base Area, and Hao Zhiquan was influenced by the revolution from an early age and was determined to carry a gun to fight the Japanese devils.
Because he was not old enough, he had no way to join the Eighth Route Army, and at his strong request, the Eighth Route Army agreed to let him be the messenger, and Hao Zhiquan was very proud and could successfully complete the task every time.
In 1944, when Hao Zhiquan finally turned 16, he could not wait to apply to the organization to join the army, and the organization accepted him and assigned him to the local Yushe Independent Battalion.
Although the Yushe Independent Battalion was a non-organization team, they were familiar with the local terrain, fought and traveled freely between valleys, often made the ghosts dizzy, and made a lot of contributions to the War of Resistance Against Japan.
The commander of the Yushe Independent Battalion was named Hao Sancheng, and when he saw that Hao Zhiquan was young, he asked Hao Zhiquan to be his guard. Hao Sancheng has a bold personality and treats his soldiers like his own brothers. On the battlefield, he was brave and resourceful, often taking his brothers to catch the devils off guard. Hao Zhiquan admired him and regarded him as his role model.
Don't look at Hao Zhi's young age, he doesn't flinch at all when he starts fighting, he always remembers the sentence on the wall at the entrance of the village
"I'd rather be a ghost of war than a slave to the country"
The slogan of the slogan vents all the hatred for japanese devils on the battlefield.
On August 15, 1945, Japan announced its unconditional surrender, and the War of Resistance Against Japan was finally won. The glorious deeds of the Yushe Independent Battalion were widely circulated in the local area, and some reporters came to interview Hao Sancheng battalion commander, and when Hao Sancheng took pictures, he asked several guards to join him. This was the only photo of Hao Zhiquan and the battalion commander, and he took the photo as a treasure and carried it with him wherever he went.
Second, go to the party campaign and win chips for the Chongqing negotiations.
After Japan's surrender, chiang kai-shek, in order to steal the fruits of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, invited Mao Zedong, chairman of the CPC Central Committee, to Chongqing for negotiations, and on the other hand mobilized large troops to launch an attack on the liberated areas in an attempt to eliminate the liberated areas and the people's army led by the CPC.
Yan Xishan, commander of the Second Theater of operations of the Kuomintang Army, was ordered by Chiang Kai-shek to send Shi Zebo, commander of the 19th Army, a unit of the 61st Army, and some puppet troops with a total of 17,000 people to invade southeastern Jin, occupying the county towns of Xiangyuan, Lucheng, and Changzhi liberated by the Eighth Route Army from the Japanese puppet army.
In order to defend the fruits of the victory of the War of Resistance, the Central Military Commission ordered the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Military Region to concentrate all its forces to remove the Kuomintang troops occupying the party. Liu Bocheng, commander of the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Military Region, and Deng Xiaoping, political commissar, followed the instructions of the Central Military Commission and concentrated more than 31,000 people from the three main columns of Taihang, Taiyue, and Southern Hebei and more than 31,000 local troops to launch the Shangdang Campaign.
Hao Zhiquan's local unit, the Yushe Independent Battalion, was also called in to join the battle. When they heard that Chairman Mao was going to Chongqing for negotiations, Hao Zhiquan was worried about Chairman Mao's safety, and the battalion commander Hao Sancheng said to them: "The better the Shangdang campaign is fought, the safer Chairman Mao will be and the more powerful he will be at the negotiating table." ”
Hao Zhiquan listened to the moment full of motivation and shouted the exit number
"Fight the battle of the Shangdang and support the Chongqing negotiations!"
On September 10, 1945, the Battle of Shangdang was officially launched. For the sake of Chairman Mao's safety, all the Plasters and people's liberation army went to great lengths to break through Xiangyuan, Changzi, Tunliu, Lucheng and other places in only ten days. On September 20, various columns of the People's Liberation Army joined forces to encircle Changzhi.
Shi Zebo could not resist the overwhelming Plaster, and hurriedly asked Yan Xishan for help, and Yan Xishan urgently ordered Peng Yubin, deputy commander-in-chief of the 7th Group Army, to lead more than 20,000 troops from the 23rd and 83rd Armies and the Provincial Defense Army to reinforce Changzhi from the Qixian area in an attempt to relieve Shi Zebo's trapped siege.
Under the leadership of Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping, the People's Liberation Army adopted the method of "attacking the city and providing assistance," with the troops of each unit divided into two routes, one continuing to attack Changzhi and the other ambushing Peng Yubin's reinforcements.
Hao Zhiquan was responsible for ambushing Peng Yubin's reinforcements, and they used the best interspersed division tactics to break Peng Yubin's reinforcements into pieces, and then broke them individually, and finally Peng Yubin was also killed.
Shi Zebo, who was trapped in Changzhi, saw that there was no hope for reinforcements, so he fled at night, and Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping urgently ordered the Taiyue column to chase after him, and eventually Shi Zebo was captured, and the Shangdang campaign was declared over.
The Shangdang Campaign not only annihilated one-third of Yan Xishan's troops and forced Yan Xishan to retreat to Taiyuan, but also dealt a heavy blow to Chiang Kai-shek's arrogance, strengthened the cpc's position in the Chongqing negotiations, and ensured Chairman Mao's personal safety.
3. The fierce battle in Taiyuan and the sacrifice of the battalion commander Hao Sancheng
In March 1949, Hao Zhiquan followed the troops to Taiyuan City, by which time the Liberation War had been going on for more than three years, and Hao Zhiquan had also become the leader of the demolition team from a young recruit egg.
Taiyuan is located in the northern part of the Jinzhong Basin, relying on the HanShan Mountains in the east and the Fenhe River in the west, with complex terrain, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and Yan Xishan has occupied this place for 38 years. Through his long-term management, Taiyuan was built into a circular defense system that combined various fortresses with trenches and secret passages.
In addition to Taiyuan's natural defensive advantages, there is also an arsenal in Taiyuan City, where they can produce their own weapons, guns and ammunition. Moreover, the Taiyuan defenders were mostly native Jin troops, and the Jin army at that time was called
"A dragon in Jin, a worm in Jin"
It can be seen that as long as they fight on the mainland, their strength should not be underestimated.
Beginning in October 1948, Xu Xiangqian commanded more than 80,000 People's Liberation Army troops to attack Taiyuan under the appointment of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and now five months have passed, and Taiyuan has still not been breached. After several battles, although many Kuomintang troops were annihilated, our People's Liberation Army also suffered heavy losses.
Xu Qianqian, who was then the deputy commander of the North China Military Region, the commander of the 1st Corps, and the political commissar, commanded the Battle of Linfen and the Battle of Jinzhong in 1984, defeating more than 100,000 Kuomintang troops with 60,000 troops and liberating 14 counties.
His military ability is obvious to all, so the central authorities will entrust him with the heavy task of liberating Taiyuan. However, when he received the task, his health was already in pain, and after several months of fighting, his health became worse and worse, and there was no way to continue to serve as a commander, and it happened that Peng Dehuai had just finished the Northwest Campaign, and Xu Xiangqian entrusted him to command the Taiyuan Battle on his behalf.
In order to achieve early victory, the Party Central Committee dispatched troops from all over the country to fully support Taiyuan in March 1949, and this time gathered more than 1,300 artillery pieces and more than 250,000 People's Liberation Army to encircle Taiyuan with an overwhelming advantage.
Hao Zhiquan and they were also assigned to the Battle of Taiyuan, which was a fortunate thing for Hao Zhiquan, who wanted to contribute to the motherland, but he did not expect that this battle would cause him to lose his most beloved battalion commander, Hao Sancheng.
On this day, Hao Zhiquan and they received the task of blowing up the city wall, according to the report, there were no enemy troops under the city wall, but when they came to the city wall, they actually drilled out more than a dozen Japanese soldiers from the bunkers under the wall!
Japan had surrendered as early as 1945, and all its troops had withdrawn from China, so why did Japanese soldiers appear in Taiyuan four years later?
After Japan's defeat, the Emperor ordered Okamura Ninji to lead the Japanese army to surrender to the republic of China government, although he was very reluctant, but the military life was difficult to violate. However, he still secretly negotiated with Chiang Kai-shek, who wanted to lead his army to stay in China and help Chiang Kai-shek fight the Communists.
Okamura ningji was indeed clever, predicting that there would be a fierce battle between the Kuomintang and the Communists. And Chiang Kai-shek also knew the cruelty of Okamura Ningji, and he did not want to raise tigers for trouble, so he resolutely refused Okamura Ningji's request.
Yan Xishan did not care about these things, as early as when he was studying in Japan, he coveted the combat effectiveness of Japanese soldiers, for him who ruled Shanxi for more than thirty years, if he wanted to always be the "earth emperor" of Shanxi, he had to resist both the Eighth Route Army and defend Chiang Kai-shek, and if he could buy some Japanese soldiers, it would undoubtedly greatly increase his strength.
So Yan Xishan took the initiative to negotiate with the Japanese surrender troops in Shanxi. There were really some unwilling Japanese soldiers who were willing to follow Yan Xishan, and they stayed to seek so-called "revenge", but they did not know that their value was to be shot by Yan Xishan.
In this way, this group of Japanese soldiers became yan xishan's mercenaries, who hid in secret in Shanxi, practicing day and day, waiting to "avenge the snow and hatred" against the communists. Yan Xishan did this very covertly, and even his own team had few people who knew about the existence of Japanese soldiers, let alone the People's Liberation Army?
When Hao Zhiquan saw this group of Japanese soldiers, he couldn't help but be stunned, only to hear Hao Sancheng's battalion commander shout: "Xiao Quanzi, quickly hide behind the corpse!" Although he did not know what the situation was, he immediately followed the instructions of the battalion commander. Whether it is the Japanese soldiers or the Kuomintang, anyone who hinders China's liberation is an enemy, and it is right to fight!
It didn't take long for both sides to run out of bullets. In order to complete the task and blow up the city wall, Hao Zhiquan did not retreat, and rushed forward to engage in a white-knife battle with the Japanese soldiers.
Although he did not expect to encounter Japanese soldiers again after four years, Hao Zhiquan's hatred for Japanese soldiers did not diminish at all, and when he thought of the disaster brought to the Chinese by this group of inhumane invaders, Hao Zhiquan was eager to immediately cut their corpses into pieces. His eyes were filled with hatred, and he swung his knife at the Japanese soldiers.
The Japanese soldiers were saddled with the humiliation of defeat and what they thought was "hatred", so they were also extremely brave and fierce, and they regarded death as a homecoming. In a situation of equal strength, each side suffers damage.
Suddenly, a steel knife stabbed into Hao Zhiquan's chest, and the Japanese soldier in front of him was fiercely stabbing the steel knife deeper and deeper, and just when he felt that he was about to die, a gunshot exploded the head of the Japanese soldier, and it turned out that the battalion commander had saved himself with the last bullet.
When Hao Zhiquan looked at the battalion commander, he found that the battalion commander already had several holes in his body, and the blood was flowing straight out. Hao Zhiquan cried instantly, although he also had injuries on his body, he could not feel the pain, and the only thing he was worried about was whether the battalion commander's injuries mattered.
"Battalion commander..." Hao Zhiquan had just uttered these two words when he was interrupted by the battalion commander.
"Quick, go blow up the walls!" Be sure to blow up the walls! ”
The battalion commander shouted at him with all his strength.
Hao Zhiquan heard the battalion commander's order, stood up in severe pain, picked up the explosive package and ran to the city wall.
"Boom!" The city wall exploded a gap, and Hao Zhiquan fell to the ground in response.
By the time he woke up again, three days later, he was lying on a bed in a field hospital, and the nurse told him that his head had been hit hard by a shell and that it was a miracle that he had survived. And only he knew that if he had not been the battalion commander, he would have died under the bayonets of the Japanese soldiers.
When he asked about the camp commander, the nurse told him that Hao Camp Commander had died, and Hao Zhiquan cried bitterly, and The Hao Camp Commander, who he had always regarded as an example, treated him like a brother, and Hao Camp Commander actually left...
In the early morning of April 24, 1949, the People's Liberation Army successfully breached Taiyuan City. The battle was fought for more than half a year, and the number of casualties in the People's Liberation Army reached 45,000, which was the longest and most fierce urban offensive and defensive battle during the Liberation War. The victory in the Battle of Taiyuan marked the complete liberation of Shanxi.
Fourth, the hero returns and proves his identity for many years
After the end of the war, Hao Zhiquan stayed in the army for another year, and then retired home, at this time Hao Zhiquan had just turned 22.
After returning to his hometown of Yushe County, Hao Zhiquan married his wife and had children, built a house and farmed land, and lived a peaceful life. For those who have fought too many battles, this simple day is the happiness they could not have sought before.
Hao Zhiquan often thinks of his comrades-in-arms, especially Commander Hao, and every time he shed tears, but unfortunately, this happy day Hao Camp Commander can no longer see. There was always that picture of Hao Yingchang on him, and he would wipe it very carefully every day, for fear of getting the photo dirty and broken.
Later, the Yushe County Fossil Museum set up a red exhibition hall in the museum to carry forward the strong and indomitable spirit of the Chinese nation to resist the war, and also to let more people understand the story of the War of Resistance. The museum staff went around collecting information on the anti-Japanese heroes in Yushe County, and Hao Sancheng, as the battalion commander of the Independent Battalion in Yushe County, had already spread his deeds in the local area, but the staff could not even find a photo of him.
After learning that Hao Zhiquan had a photo of Hao Sancheng in his hand, the staff rushed to the door to find him. Hao Zhiquan was willing to give up, this was the only thought left by Hao Camp Commander, after hearing the staff tell him that the release hall could let more people know the deeds of Hao Sancheng's battalion commander, Hao Zhiquan agreed to give them the photo.
When the reporter heard this, the eyes suddenly glowed, if this photo is still in the museum, then the identity of the old man can not be proved? So the reporter quickly took Hao Zhiquan to the Yushe County Fossil Museum.
"Look, that's Camp Commander Hao, and next to him is me!"
The old man excitedly pointed to an old photograph in the red exhibition area.
However, time flies, and Hao Zhiquan in the photo is still only a teenager, and Hao Zhiquan is nearly 90 years old at this time, so it is difficult to imagine the two of them as a person.
When he learned that this photo could not be used as proof that he had participated in the War of Resistance Against Japan, the old man's face skipped a trace of loss.
"Why is it so hard to prove that I have beaten Japanese devils?"
Seeing the old man's depressed look, the reporter also became sad. However, the state's regulations are not unreasonable, since the state issued a subsidy policy to increase the number of anti-war personnel, there are often some lawbreakers impersonating the anti-war heroes to receive state subsidies, so identity certificates are very important.
Suddenly, the reporter thought of another way, if there is a comrade-in-arms who can prove to Hao Zhiquan, wouldn't it be foolproof?
The reporter quickly asked the old man's unit, Hao Zhiquan said that he had been incorporated into the 11th company, 11th company, 14th company, 14th platoon, 5 squads of the 385th Brigade of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army.
Subsequently, the reporter arranged for the two of them to meet. The two old men were very excited, and they wept with joy the moment they saw each other. After greeting each other's current situation, they talked about the past, the war-torn era and the years of nine deaths.
With the proof of Hao Zhiquan's comrades-in-arms, his status as an anti-Japanese hero was finally recognized by the state. This old man, who had made great contributions to the War of Resistance Against Japan and the War of Liberation, could finally enjoy the treatment he deserved.