Author: Wang Yan Source: "Zhonghong Film and Television"
On March 25, 1947, only one week after the evacuation of Yan'an, the battle order for the Qinghuatou Campaign was drafted by Wang Zhengzhu, deputy chief of staff of the Northwest Field Corps, and signed by Commander and Political Commissar Peng Dehuai and Deputy Political Commissar Xi Zhongxun. (Photo by Wang Yan)
At the end of 1946, Peng Dehuai, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission and deputy commander-in-chief of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and Xi Zhongxun, secretary of the Northwest Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, studied combat together. (Photo by Wang Yan)
First row from left: Pu Anxiu, Liu Zhijian, Li Jukui, Liao Hansheng, Wu Xiuquan, Wang Ping, Wang Zhen, Yang Shangkun, Xi Zhongxun, Wang Shoudao, Zhang Aiping, Kang Keqing, Liu Ying, Fang Qiang. The fifth from the right in the second row is Wang Zhengzhu. (Photo by Wang Yan)
1. List of the Editorial Committee of the History of the Field War. (Photo by Wang Yan)
On June 26, 1946, Chiang Kai-shek tore up the "Double Ten" agreement, and the Kuomintang army attacked our Central Plains Military Region on a large scale, and the Third Domestic Revolutionary War broke out. My father, Wang Zhengzhu, was then deputy director of the Central Military Commission's Operations Bureau and director of the Zaoyuan War Room of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, and his focus shifted to defending Yan'an, the Party Central Committee, and Chairman Mao. On August 2, after the Kuomintang army sent seven planes to bomb Yan'an, the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission decided to transfer and evacuate Yan'an in an orderly manner after Chairman Mao's decision. On August 28, Xi Zhongxun, secretary of the Northwest Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and political commissar of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningjin-Sui Joint Defense Army, published an article in the "Liberation Daily": "Heighten Vigilance and Defend the Border Area". On September 27, the 359th Brigade led by Wang Zhen broke through the Central Plains and returned to Yan'an under the response of Xi Zhongxun to join the Yan'an defense.
On October 19, Chiang Kai-shek issued an order to Hu Zongnan to "suppress bandits". On the same day, the Central Military Commission issued a deployment to defend Yan'an, ordering Zhang Zongxun to lead the 358th Brigade and the 1st Independent Brigade to Yan'an. On November 6, the Central Military Commission issued a deployment for the second time to defend Yan'an: our army assembled a total of 7 brigades to defend Yan'an with border troops, and established a unified command center, with Chen Geng as commander, Xi Zhongxun as political commissar, and Zhang Zongxun as deputy commander. The next day, at the door of the war room of the Central Military Commission in Wangjiaping, Yan'an, my father accompanied Peng Dehuai to greet the leaders attending the defense meeting. Mr. Peng told Political Commissar Xi that this is Wang Zhengzhu, deputy director of the First Bureau (Operations Bureau) of the Military Commission, our "living dictionary" and "living map", and he will report on the deployment (of defending Yan'an) at the meeting. Father saluted Political Commissar Xi, Xi Zhongxun warmly shook hands with his father, and learned that Xi Zhongxun and his father's birthday was the same day, only two years older. In the first formal contact, my father felt that Xi Zhongxun was mature, sophisticated, and approachable, and he didn't have any leadership at all, and he was as simple and honest as a fellow villager in northern Shaanxi.
On December 11, Peng Dehuai and Xi Zhongxun, accompanied by their father, took a car from Yan'an to Jin in accordance with the instructions of the central government, crossed the Yellow River on the 15th, and arrived at Gaojiagou in the west of the stone through Liulin. On the 16th, a meeting of senior cadres of Jin Yu and Taiyue was held in Gaojiagou. The meeting was presided over by Peng Dehuai, and conveyed the instructions of the Central Military Commission on coping with the Kuomintang army's attack on the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo border region and the joint defense and coordinated operations of the two liberated areas in the east and west of the Yellow River. On the 17th, Peng and Xi went to Weide from Lishi and returned to Yan'an on the 20th. During these 10 days, Xi Zhongxun asked his father in detail about the head of the Military Commission's vision for defending Yan'an, the strength and deployment of the enemy and us, the establishment of the Kuomintang army, the armament and the situation of the commander-in-chief.
On February 9, 1947, Hu Zongnan, director of the Xi'an Pacification Office of the Kuomintang, held an operational meeting in Sanyuan, Shaanxi, and threatened: seize Yan'an, destroy the head organs of the communist army, solve the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo border area within two months, and eliminate the entire communist army within six months. On February 10, the Central Military Commission ordered: The first column (under the jurisdiction of the 358th Brigade and the 1st Independent Brigade) and the Teaching Brigade, the newly formed 4th Brigade, the 1st Garrison Brigade, and the 3rd Garrison Brigade formed the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo Border Region Field Army, with Zhang Zongxun as the commander and Xi Zhongxun as the political commissar, to redeploy the defense of Yan'an City. On March 8, more than 10,000 people from all walks of life in Yan'an held a mobilization meeting to defend the Party Central Committee, Chairman Mao, the border region, and Yan'an. On the same day, the Central Military Commission sent a telegram ordering Wang Zhen to lead the 359th Brigade and the 4th Brigade to enter Shaanxi from the Yanshuiguan Ferry, assemble covertly in the Yanchang area, and cooperate with the Teaching Brigade to block and annihilate the invading enemy in the Linzhen and Jinpenwan areas. On March 11, the U.S. military observer group evacuated Yan'an by plane, and only seven hours later, Kuomintang planes bombed Yan'an. On the 13th, Chiang Kai-shek officially launched a "key offensive" in northern Shaanxi, and the defense of Yan'an was in full swing. On March 16, the Central Military Commission ordered: Zhang Zongxun's first column (under the jurisdiction of the 358th Brigade and the 1st Brigade of the Independent Army), Wang Zhen's second column (with the jurisdiction of the 359th Brigade and the 4th Brigade of the Independent Army), the Teaching Brigade, and the newly formed 4th Brigade to form the Northwest Field Corps (referred to as the West Field), with Peng Dehuai as the commander and political commissar, and Xi Zhongxun as the deputy political commissar. On the afternoon of the 18th, his father rushed back to Wangjiaping from the front line with Peng Dehuai (Chairman Mao had been transferred from Zaoyuan to Wangjiaping a few days ago), and Xi Zhongxun also rushed to Wangjiaping. Chairman Mao, Zhou Enlai and Ren Bishi worked with Peng and Xi to study the operational issues of Xiye after the evacuation of Yan'an, and Peng asked his father to report on the tense situation under Hu Zong's southern troops and the battle situation of our army's blockade. Chairman Mao was confident, and asked Peng and Xi unhurriedly: Have the people in Yan'an been evacuated and transferred? Chairman Mao said he was the last to evacuate. After hearing this, Peng and Xi were very anxious and kept persuading Chairman Mao to transfer as soon as possible. After dusk, Chairman Mao got into a car and evacuated Yan'an, and Peng and Xi sent Chairman Mao and his party to the Yan River. At dawn on the 19th, my father moved to Fengcun in the northeast of Yan'an with Peng and Xi, and after 7 days of Yan'an defense and a large number of casualties to the enemy, our army took the initiative to withdraw from Yan'an in the morning, and the Yan'an defense battle officially ended. On the 20th, the field division was transferred to Liangcun in the west of Qinghua, and the command organ of the Northwest Field Corps was formally established, with Zhang Wenzhou as chief of staff, his father as deputy chief of staff, and Xu Liqing as director of the Political Department (on April 2, Liu Jingfan was appointed as logistics commander). From then on, his father assisted Peng Dehuai and Xi Zhongxun in commanding Xiye, with more than 20,000 people to resist Hu Zongnan's 250,000 people, using "hide and seek" and "mushroom" tactics to deal with the Kuomintang army, using concentrated forces to fight a war of annihilation, breaking and eliminating them in a movement war, defending the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao's transfer to northern Shaanxi. My father had the habit of keeping a diary from the time he enlisted in the Red Army until his death. Based on his wartime diary, his father compiled and published a set of memoirs, "Fenghuo Guanshan" (a chronicle of the war years) and "Yellow Flowers of the Battlefield" (memories and remembrance), which recorded in detail the glorious course of Nishino's liberation of the great northwest.
On March 25, only a week after evacuating Yan'an, Xiye launched the Battle of Qinghuatou; On April 14, the Battle of the Yangma River was launched; From May 2nd to 4th, the Battle of Panlong, commonly known as "Three Battles and Three Victories", was carried out, and a total of more than 14,000 enemies were annihilated. On May 14, a Zhujie meeting attended by 50,000 soldiers and civilians was held in Zhenwudong, Ansai County, and Zhou Enlai, Peng Dehuai and Xi Zhongxun attended the conference and delivered speeches.
On April 8, a total of 800 people from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the People's Liberation Army Headquarters and the Guard Brigade were organized into four brigades in Qingyangcha, Jingbian, numbered "Nine Detachments" (also known as the "Kunlun Column"), and Ren Bi was the commander at the time, under the pseudonym Shi Lin; Lu Dingyi was a political commissar, under the pseudonym Zheng Wei; Mao Zedong assumed the pseudonym Li Desheng; Zhou Enlai is known as Hu Bicheng. Chief Peng and Xi instructed the Xiye Command to consult the Central Military Commission and Chairman Mao for major and minor battles. In the four months since they evacuated Yan'an, Peng and Xi sent dozens of telegrams requesting instructions and reports, all of which received timely replies and instructions from Chairman Mao and the Central Military Commission. My father was responsible for formulating the marching route, keeping abreast of the movements of the "Ninth Detachment", liaising and interacting with them, diverting the attention of the Kuomintang army as much as possible, and ensuring the safety of the "Ninth Detachment". In order to find the central organs of the Communist Party of China and the main force of Xiye, Hu Zongnan adopted a dragnet from the ground to the air and a carpet type of reconnaissance and clearance. Due to the timely transfer and reduction of radio contacts, especially the solid foundation of mass work of Xi Zhongxun and Liu Jingfan, who were born in northern Shaanxi, and the heart-to-heart connection between the people in the border areas and the Communist Party and the People's Liberation Army, Hu Zongnan was like a blind and deaf man, and he could never find the central organs of the Communist Party of China and the main force of Xiye.
From May 29 to June 16, Xiye launched the Battle of Longdong, killing and wounding more than 4,700 Kuomintang troops. From 21 to 23 July, my father accompanied Peng Dehuai, Xi Zhongxun, Zhang Zongxun, Wang Zhen, and other leaders to Xiaohe Village, Jingbian County, to attend the enlarged military conference of the CPC Central Committee (also known as the Xiaohe Conference) presided over by Chairman Mao. On July 31, the Central Military Commission approved the Northwest Field Corps to be officially named the Northwest Field Army, with Peng Dehuai as commander and political commissar, Xi Zhongxun as deputy political commissar, and his father still as deputy chief of staff.
After the Xiaohe Conference, Xi Zhongxun was ordered to leave the front line and return to the rear to preside over the work of the Northwest Bureau, partnering with Commander He Long, serving as the political commissar of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningjin-Sui Joint Defense Army, and still participating in the important decision-making of the Northwest Field Army. In August, he and He Long led his troops to cross the Yellow River eastward, attracting and mobilizing the Kuomintang army to pursue, and cooperated with Peng Dehuai to achieve a great victory in Shajiadian (Campaign) from August 18 to 20, turning the entire war situation in northern Shaanxi. More importantly, Xi Zhongxun, together with He Long, mobilized more than 1.5 million people to ensure the logistics and military food supply in Xiye. Xi Zhongxun, in cooperation with Peng Dehuai and He Long, led the new-style army rectification movement centered on "complaining about grievances" and "three investigations" (checking the ranks, checking the work, and checking the fighting spirit) between the winter of 1947 and the spring of 1948, which gave the troops a completely new look. On February 24, 1948, the new style of the whole army ended, Xiye launched the Yichuan Campaign, on March 3, conquered Yichuan City, annihilated the Kuomintang Army reorganized the 29th Army and other more than 29,000 people, lieutenant general Liu Jian committed suicide, and our army changed from the inner counteroffensive to the outer counteroffensive. On March 19, the Xiye Command issued a communiqué on the achievements since the evacuation of Yan'an for one year: 99,137 enemies were destroyed, including 63,604 prisoners, 35,213 killed and wounded (26 officers above the rank of major general were killed and wounded), 320 people fought for an uprising, and 22 county towns were recovered and liberated.
On March 23, Chairman Mao and Vice Chairman Zhou led the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the headquarters of the People's Liberation Army to cross the Yellow River from Chuankou in Wubao County to the east, leaving northern Shaanxi and entering North China. My father wrote in his diary on this day: "From Chairman Mao's withdrawal from Yan'an to his departure from northern Shaanxi, it was a full year and five days. Chairman Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Ren Bishi led the Party Central Committee to stay in the base area in northern Shaanxi despite the Kuomintang's 'key offensive', and shared weal and woe with the Northwest People's Liberation Army and the broad masses of people in northern Shaanxi, and commanded the National Liberation War. 'Down with Chiang Kai-shek and liberate all of China' is just around the corner. Chairman Mao Zedong led the PLA Headquarters to command the nationwide War of Liberation on the most arduous battlefield and with the most backward means of communication, creating a miracle in the history of world warfare. So far, Nishino has completed the important task of defending the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao's transfer to northern Shaanxi.
From April 16 to May 12, Nishino launched the Battle of Xifu. During this battle, Yan'an was recaptured on April 21, and Baoji, the rear supply base of Hu Zongnan, was captured on the 26th. Although the battle annihilated more than 29,000 Kuomintang troops, Xiye lost about 15,000 people. The lessons of the Xifu Campaign that his father assisted Peng Dehuai in summing up were: the Kuomintang army desperately provided emergency support to Baoji underestimated, the reinforcement was ineffective, and the enemy fell into the belly. In the battle, the 4th Column of Wang Shitai as the commander did not fight well enough, and while the 1st and 2nd Columns occupied Baoji, the enemy's Pei Changhui Department broke through the defense line of the 4th Column in Fufeng Xinglin Town, and the 4th Column neither asked the higher authorities nor notified the brother troops, and retreated to the mountains northeast of Qishan on its own, causing Minister Pei to drive straight into Baoji, only a few dozen miles away from the Xiye Headquarters. Fortunately, Peng Dehuai commanded well and decisively ordered the 1st and 2nd Columns to blow up the arsenal, arsenals, and military supplies that had not had time to be transferred, and quickly dislodged the enemy. In the process of breaking through, our army was twice pinned by the Hu and Ma (Jia) armies and suffered heavy losses. From May 26 to June 1, Nishino held the second enlarged meeting of the front committee in Tuji Town, southeast of Luochuan, to sum up the lessons and lessons of the Xifu Campaign. At the meeting, Peng Dehuai first made self-criticism and assumed the main responsibility for the defeat in the later stage of the campaign. At the same time, he severely criticized the 4 verticals, pointing at Wang Shitai and saying: I had the heart to shoot you at that time, and my father and the participants all sweated for Wang Shitai. In addition to making an in-depth inspection at the meeting, Wang Shitai also wrote a written inspection report after the meeting. One day, when his father was reporting to Xi Zhongxun in the courtyard, Wang Shitai came over and handed the inspection report to Xi Zhongxun, and asked his old comrades-in-arms (also the old Red Army in northern Shaanxi, in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningjin-Sui Joint Defense Army, Wang Shitai served as the commander, and Xi Zhongxun served as the political commissar) to hand it over to Peng Dehuai. Xi asked Wang why he didn't hand it over to Mr. Peng directly? Wang Shitai said that he was afraid of provoking Mr. Peng to get angry. Xi Zhongxun said: Peng is always a straightforward person, he hates beating around the bush the most, he criticizes people for not being emotional, all out of public intentions, all for work, Mr. Peng only said to you that he has the heart to shoot, which is already very polite. Comrade Zhengzhu has received a lot more criticism than you by Mr. Peng's side, the second time he attacked Yulin, Zhengzhu persuaded Mr. Peng to retreat, and his opinion was right, but Mr. Peng attacked the city on fire, saying that Wang Zhengzhu moved the army's heart and wanted to pull it out and shoot him, which was much more serious than you, but afterwards Mr. Peng apologized to Mr. Peng, and Mr. Peng was so open-minded and selfless. When you see Mr. Peng, you only talk about mistakes, don't make any explanations, and don't emphasize objectivity, as long as you are sincere and make up for your mistakes, you will get Mr. Peng's understanding. My father said to Wang Shitai that Political Commissar Xi helped the 4th Column after the meeting and said a lot of things, and Mr. Peng knew that your column was formed late, the foundation was poor, and the personnel and equipment were not as good as the 1st and 2nd columns. After hearing this, Wang Shitai went directly into the house to find Mr. Peng, and in less than half an hour, Wang Shitai walked out of the house happily. A year later, from July 10 to 14, 1949, Yiye (in February 1949, the Northwest Field Army was called the First Field Army, referred to as Yiye) launched the Fumei Campaign, and the 4th Army (the first 4 columns) fought very well, and they completed the task of cutting off the enemy's retreat with the determination of "turning over the battle" and "making meritorious contributions to the liberation of the northwest". The enemy's four armies launched repeated attacks on the 4th Army, which was holding the position of Beiluoju Town in Meixian County, but they were all repelled by the stubborn resistance of the commanders and fighters, completely crushing the enemy's attempt to break through the encirclement and playing a key role in the victory of the entire campaign. After the war, General Peng praised the 4th Army for fighting well and praised it: We must have this tenacious fighting style of not being arrogant in victory and not being discouraged in defeat.
At the end of April 1996, my father went to Lanzhou to participate in and preside over the work summary meeting of the "First Field History Office" of the Lanzhou Military Region, and I accompanied my parents to visit Wang (Shitai) at home, when Wang Lao was 86 years old, his body was very healthy, and his thinking was particularly quick, and the two old comrades-in-arms were very excited when they met, and they reviewed the combat course of the Northwest Field Army together. They talked about Chairman Mao's knowledge of people and his duties, and it was a wise move to send Xi Zhongxun and Peng Dehuai to partner up, giving full play to their respective advantages and strengths, and complementing each other in personality. Although Xi Zhongxun is 15 years younger than Peng Dehuai, he is mature and sophisticated, calm, and considers the problem very comprehensively and thoughtfully. Xi Zhongxun's biggest characteristic is that he is good at uniting comrades and doing patient and meticulous ideological work. The main leaders of the Northwest Field Army came from all over the world, Peng Dehuai, Zhang Zongxun and others came from the Red Army; Gan Siqi (Director of the Political Department), Wang Zhen (Commander of the First Corps), Xu Guangda (Commander of the Second Corps) and others from the Red Second Front Army; Xi Zhongxun, Zhang Wenzhou, Liu Jingfan, Wang Shitai and others are from the Red Army of Northern Shaanxi; Zhao Shoushan (second deputy commander), Yan Kuyao (chief of staff) and others from the Northwest Army of the Kuomintang; Xu Liqing and Wang Zhengzhu came from the Red Fourth Front Army. Everyone was sincerely united and united against the enemy, without mountains and factionalism, and became comrades-in-arms in the northwest battlefield who shared life and death, and defeated the Kuomintang army in the south of Hu Zong with one block and ten. Xi Zhongxun never rectifies people, is kind to people everywhere, cares about cadres at all levels, he is as strict as Peng Dehuai, leads by example, and has high prestige among cadres and soldiers. Wang Lao said that Xi Zhongxun not only maintained Peng Dehuai's leadership position everywhere, but also eliminated the reverence of his subordinates for President Peng through ideological work, narrowed the distance between us and President Peng, and the subordinates dared to put forward different opinions to their superiors, so as to truly realize military democracy and political democracy. I was under a lot of pressure after losing the Battle of Xifu, and Mr. Peng's criticism made me understand that his heart was selfless and wide, and Mr. Peng could not only lead to win the battle, but also lead to defeat the battle, and he was the real General Peng. The two old men miss Mr. Peng very much, and they said that after Mr. Peng returned to China after the victory of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, if Xi Zhongxun was still by Peng Dehuai's side, there would be no "Book of Ten Thousand Words", and there would be no chaos as big as the Lushan Conference.
The economy of the northwest region is backward and the population is sparse, and the supply of soldiers has become a major problem. On October 30, 1948, Nishino telegraphed to Mao Zedong and reported on the "Work of Winning Prisoners": In the past 20 months, a total of more than 93,000 Kuomintang troops have been captured, and 75,000 people have been added to the Northwest Field Army, accounting for 80 percent of the total number of prisoners. On November 3, Mao Zedong sent a telegram to the Northwest Field Army: The summary of the struggle for captured soldiers is very good, and it has been forwarded to various places for reference.
After the enlarged meeting of the former committee of the Xifu Conference, Xi Zhongxun returned to Jinsui to continue to focus on local work, and his father could only see Xi Zhongxun at major tasks and meetings. From January 11 to 23, 1949, Xiye held the first party congress in Wuxuan, Chengcheng, Weinan, and Xi Zhongxun gave a special speech on urban policy, mass discipline and other issues. With the counteroffensive of our army and the liberation of cities one after another, Xi Zhongxun was responsible for taking over the newly liberated cities in the northwest region, especially the liberation of Xi'an on May 20, and Xi Zhongxun made careful arrangements for taking over the city. At the end of May, Xi Zhongxun led the Northwest Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the government of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo Border Region to move from Yan'an to Xi'an.
Xi Zhongxun led peace negotiations between the Northwest Military Region and the Kuomintang 22nd Army stationed in Yulin, and on June 1, 1949, Yulin was peacefully liberated, and the commander of the Kuomintang 22nd Army, Zuo Xiezhong, led his troops to revolt, and on June 5, the 4,000 Kuomintang troops who rebelled in Yulin were organized into the Independent Second Division of the Northwest Military Region of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Nishino failed to capture Yulin in two attacks in August and October 1947, but this time he won without a fight. The peaceful liberation of Yulin was a successful example of using peaceful means to resolve the Kuomintang army in the northwest battlefield, which had an impact on other Kuomintang troops in the northwest region, prompting the Kuomintang troops in Ningxia and Xinjiang provinces and Jiuquan and Wudu to choose the road of peaceful uprising and accelerate the liberation of the entire northwest territory. On September 23, the Ningxia Kuomintang Army signed the Ningxia Peace Liberation Agreement, and Yinchuan was liberated on the 24th. On September 25 and 26, Tao Zhiyue, commander of the Xinjiang garrison of the Kuomintang army, and Bao Erhan, chairman of the Xinjiang provincial government of the Kuomintang, respectively telegraphed the uprising, and Xinjiang was declared liberated.
On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China was founded. On November 30, the First Field Army merged with the Northwest Military Region, with Peng Dehuai as commander, Xi Zhongxun as political commissar, and his father as deputy chief of staff. My father's main work during this period was to assist the troops under the command of Chief Peng Xi to liberate the remote areas in the northwest and suppress bandits, and successively eliminated the remnants of the Kuomintang troops of Hu Zongnan and Ma Jiajun and the bandits such as Usman in Xinjiang. Under the leadership of Xi Zhongxun, he has carried out patient and meticulous work to unite the people of all ethnic groups in the northwest, implemented various policies for ethnic minorities, recruited and trained a large number of ethnic minority cadres, and established and consolidated the nascent people's political power in various parts of the northwest.
His mother, Luo Jian, was a confidential secretary of the Northwest Military Region Command at the time, responsible for the telegrams and confidential documents of Peng, Xi, Zhang (Zongxun) and other leaders. Every time he sent documents to Xi Zhongxun, Political Commissar Xi always asked Chief of Staff Wang if he had been suffering from gallstone disease recently? My father had a lot of stones in the grass roots and belts because of the long march and eating grass roots, and he often had seizures, and he got up and rolled on the ground. Political Commissar Xi advised not to be tired of this disease, to live a regular life, work and rest on time, not to stay up late, and eat more digestible food in the diet.
After his father's comeback in the 80s of the last century, he published many articles commemorating the liberation of the northwest in party newspapers, military newspapers and publications, including "Review of the Northwest Battlefield", "Mutual Respect, Fighting Side by Side" and so on. After receiving an important telegram from the central government, Mr. Peng immediately asked Xi Zhongxun to study the implementation plan after reading it. Especially when formulating a battle plan, for fear that there are loopholes, Peng is always anxious, remembering that things must be solved immediately, sometimes in the middle of the night when he thinks of the problem, he calls his father up, and then goes to wake up Xi Zhongxun together, and repeatedly scrutinizes it, so that it is foolproof, Peng and Xi study at the same time, his father formulates the plan, drafts the order, and signs and agrees with the chief, and issues it quickly, and the work efficiency is very high. My father and the comrades around me found that Mr. Peng had a resolute personality, a very quick temper, and criticized people without affection, but he never got angry with Xi Zhongxun. When Mr. Peng was stubborn and angry, everyone went to Xi Zhongxun to report, and the problem could always be solved. In order to ensure that the people's army will never leave the people, President Peng often asked Xi Zhongxun and Liu Jingfan to introduce the local situation to the troops. At the enlarged meeting of the former committee of the Xiye Front Committee and other cadre meetings, Xi Zhongxun had to talk about the situation of the people in the border areas in terms of combat readiness, support for the front, and production, the hope of the masses in the border areas for the soldiers, and the importance of strengthening discipline in the troops.
In December 1978, after the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China rehabilitated Peng Dehuai, the Central Military Commission decided to establish a "Peng Dehuai Biography Group", and his father, who was still in the process of special review, was named and invited to participate in the work of the biographical group. My father was fortunate to meet Xi Zhongxun and other old chiefs and Yiye's old comrades-in-arms. At that time, Xi Zhongxun had just implemented the policy and resumed work, and he was very concerned about his father. Due to the resistance of the navy, the implementation of the policy was delayed. Until June 1980, Yang Shangkun and Xi Zhongxun returned to Beijing from Guangdong, and were received by Deng Xiaoping in Zhongnanhai. After hearing this, Chairman Deng immediately instructed: immediately dismiss and assign work. In December 1980, at the age of 65, my father was appointed Deputy Minister of the General Logistics Department. On January 10, 1985, the Central Military Commission completely rehabilitated his father. My father wrote in his diary: "I sincerely thank Comrade Deng Xiaoping for seeking truth from facts and caring for cadres. He said to his family: Xi Zhongxun has been wronged for 16 years, he has just resumed work, and the first thing he thinks of and cares about is his subordinates, speaking up for his subordinates and upholding justice. I have worked with Xi Zhongxun for a short time, but after more than 30 years, he still trusts me so much, and it is enough to meet such a good and kind leader! What moved my father particularly was that when he expressed his gratitude to Xi Zhongxun, Xi Zhongxun humbly said to his father: The main thing is that you have done a good job as a staff officer and left a good impression on the old commanders.
In 1990, the Central Military Commission set up the "First Field Army War History Compilation and Examination Committee" headed by Xi Zhongxun and Wang Zhen, and my father was appointed as a special standing member of the editorial board to specifically focus on the compilation work. Our family often receives calls from an uncle with a strong northern Shaanxi accent: "Find the chief of staff to answer the phone!" "As soon as I heard it, I knew it was Uncle Xi, and quickly asked my father to answer the phone. They chatted for more than half an hour, and the content was all about the Northwest Battlefield. It turned out that when the history of a field war was finalized, it had to be submitted to the director for approval, but Xi Zhongxun was careful when reviewing it, and often called his father to verify the situation. The First Field Army's War History and War History Atlas were officially published in 1995 and 1997 respectively, leaving a valuable spiritual wealth for future generations. In the northwestern battlefield for more than three years, Yiye annihilated more than 519,000 Kuomintang troops and exterminated 129,000 bandits. More than 76,000 commanders and fighters were honorably wounded, and 18,000 sacrificed their precious lives.
On October 21, 2014, his mother Luo Jian died of illness in the General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army, and on October 26, General Zhang Youxia, then member of the Central Military Commission and head of the General Armament Department, personally went to his home to mourn Aunt Luo Jian. On October 31, at the opening ceremony of the All-Army Political Work Conference held in Gutian, Zhang Youxia reported the news of Luo Jian's death to Xi Jinping, and President Xi immediately asked Zhang Youxia to convey his cordial condolences to Wang Zhengzhu and Luo Jian's relatives. This freed our family from extreme grief, and made us understand what it means not to forget the original intention, President Xi Jinping and Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia have not forgotten the old-timers and aunts who fought with their parents in the Northwest Battlefield!
Today, our whole party and the whole army are deeply studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, coinciding with the 105th anniversary of Xi Zhongxun's birth, we miss Xi Zhongxun even more, especially Peng Dehuai and Xi Zhongxun led the vast number of commanders and fighters including my father to fight hard and hard in the northwest battlefield day and night, we must not forget our original intention, and pass on the revolutionary spirit and glorious tradition of Yiye from generation to generation.
[Author: Wang Yan, colonel, son of founding rear admiral Wang Zhengzhu, former chief military representative and senior engineer of the Second Research Institute of the Navy in the Ministry of Aerospace
Source: "Zhonghong Film and Television"]