After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the establishment of the Anti-Japanese National United Front became an urgent task, so on October 12, 1937, the two parties decided to formally establish the New Fourth Army after deliberation. The New Fourth Army was formed on the basis of guerrilla forces in the eight southern provinces, and there were three directors of the Political Department, namely Yuan Guoping, Deng Zihui, and Shu Tong. So, let's look at the follow-up development of these three political directors. The first director of the Political Department, Yuan Guoping, was appointed director of the Political Department when the New Fourth Army was established in 1937, and has been engaged in united front work in the New Fourth Army since then. He actively publicized the importance of the anti-Japanese united front to the Kuomintang, and always followed Ye Ting and Xiang Ying in the southern Anhui region to resist the Japanese invaders.
However, in 1941, the New Fourth Army was surrounded by the Kuomintang 32nd Group Army, and the Southern Anhui Incident broke out. Faced with the encirclement of the Kuomintang, the strength of the New Fourth Army weakened, and after several days and nights of fierce fighting, the New Fourth Army failed to break through. Ye Ting was also detained during negotiations with Shangguan Yun, commander-in-chief of the 32nd Army, and in the end, the New Fourth Army could only scatter and break through. However, in the face of the dilemma of encirclement, the breakthrough of the New Fourth Army became extremely difficult, and many breakthroughs ended in failure. As the director of the Political Department, Yuan Guoping was seriously injured during the breakout. In order not to cause trouble to other comrades, he took out all his money to pay the party dues, and then raised his gun to commit suicide. He was only 35 years old when he died. Deng Zihui, the second director of the Political Department, faced the task of rebuilding the New Fourth Army after the Southern Anhui Incident.
Deng Zihuan became the director of the Political Department of the New Fourth Army, and successfully stabilized the military morale of the New Fourth Army, making important contributions to the consolidation and development of the anti-Japanese revolutionary base in the Huaibei region. During the Liberation War, Deng Zihuan served as political commissar of the Central China Military Region and deputy political commissar of the Central Plains Bureau; he was responsible for guiding the work of suppressing bandits in the Central Plains Liberated Areas and making tremendous efforts to stabilize and develop the Central Plains Liberated Areas. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Deng Zihuan continued to work in the Central South Bureau, successively serving as the Minister of Rural Work and Vice Premier and other positions. However , having left the military system , he was not awarded any rank in 1955. Despite this, Deng Zihui remained committed to rural construction and was known as an expert in rural work in China. He died of illness in 1972 at the age of 76.
In January 1946, the New Fourth Army merged with the Shandong Military Region to form the New Fourth Army and Shandong Military Region, and Shu Tong served as the director of the Political Department of the New Fourth Army. Subsequently, he joined the Social Department of the East China Bureau, served as the Minister of Social Affairs, and participated in commanding a series of battles such as the Jinan Campaign, the Huaihai Campaign, and the Battle of Crossing the River. Especially in the Battle of Jinan, Shu Tong participated in the planning of Wu Huawen's 96th Army uprising, which caused Wang Yaowu's plan to defend Jinan to fail, and the East China Field Army finally won. After the founding of New China, Shu Tong served as the head of the propaganda department of the East China Bureau. Having left the military system, he also did not participate in the 1955 conferral.
Although Shu Tong served as the director of the political department of the New Fourth Army, he did not receive any military rank. In the early fifties, he was in charge of Shandong and made certain contributions to the economic development of Shandong in the early days of liberation. In his later years, Shu Tong served as vice president of the Academy of Military Sciences and a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He died of illness in Beijing in 1998 at the age of 93. The above is the follow-up development of the three directors of the political department of the New Fourth Army. All of them made tremendous contributions to the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the cause of the Chinese revolution. Whether it was Yuan Guoping's life and death, Deng Zihui's dedication to rural construction, and Shu Tong's participation in campaign command and Shandong's economic development, they were all great revolutionaries and military experts. Netizens also had mixed evaluations of the three political directors.
Some people praised Yuan Guoping as a hero, and his courage and sacrifice during the breakthrough process were admirable. Others believe that Deng Zihuan was an outstanding politician and expert in rural work who made great contributions to the development of rural China. At the same time, some people praised Shu Tong's military talent and contribution to the battle, and his planning of the uprising led to the victory of the Jinan Campaign. In general, the three directors of the Political Department of the New Fourth Army were all great revolutionaries and military strategists who played an important role in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the cause of the Chinese revolution. Their sacrifice, political wisdom and leadership set an example for us. We should remember their contribution and continue to build on their spirit today.
Finally, the question worth thinking about is, how can more people know and remember the stories of these heroes, and how to pass on their spirit and inspire us to work for the prosperity of the country and the happiness of the people?