In the war years, limited by various factors and conditions, it is often difficult to find the traces of missing people, but it always touches people's hearts.
Zhou Kun, chief of staff of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army, who disappeared in 1938, is such a person: he mysteriously disappeared with a huge amount of 30,000 yuan, and his whereabouts are still unknown. So what was his ending?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" > promising chief of staff</h1>
When we talk about the War of Resistance Against Japan, we cannot fail to mention the famous "Eighth Route Army." The Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, together with the same name, were the Anti-Japanese People's Armed Forces organized by the Communist Party of China during the War of Resistance Against Japan.
The main battlefield of the Eighth Route Army was in North China, while the New Fourth Army was fighting in South China. The establishment of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army attracted many patriots to join in, throwing their heads and spilling their blood in order to defend their families and the country. Among them, there was also a soldier named Zhou Kun.
Zhou Kun is not his real name, his original name is Zhou Xukun, born in a village in Pingjiang County, Hunan Province. In 1927, at the age of 25, Zhou Xukun joined the Red Army, launched the Autumn Harvest Uprising on the xianggan side, and followed the Red Army to establish the Jinggangshan Revolutionary Base Area and the Central Revolutionary Base Area.
After Joining the Red Army, Zhou Xukun continued to carry out his activities under the pseudonym Zhou Kun in order to hide his eyes and ears, and because of his bravery and good fighting skills and political proficiency, he soon won the unanimous support of the military and the people, during which he held many positions, established a great meritorious service, and also had a certain prestige.
In August 1937, the Anti-Japanese War broke out, in response to the needs of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the main force of the Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army, and Zhou Kun was also appointed chief of staff of the 115th Division. Soon after, Zhou Kun also followed the large army across the Yellow River to the east, went to Fight in North China, and participated in the Battle of Pingxingguan.
In his prime, he not only accumulated a certain experience in fighting and commanding, but also was supported by the soldiers. If he hadn't suddenly disappeared without a trace that year, perhaps by the time new China was founded, he would have been a hero.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="6" > party members who are tempted</h1>
In late January 1938, on behalf of the Communist Party of China, Zhou Kun went to Wuhan with Ye Jianying, then chief of the general staff of the Eighth Route Army, Peng Xuefeng, chief of staff, and Bian Zhangwu, chief of staff, to Wuhan to attend the meeting of chiefs of staff at and above the division level held by the Kuomintang.
At that time, Wuhan was a rare big city that was still prosperous in the war. As the "thoroughfare of the nine provinces", it has become an important town with its dangerous geographical location, smooth transportation and the surrounding fertile fields, and it is also the first place of righteousness of the Xinhai Revolution.
Even though it was trampled by the iron hooves of the Japanese Kou, the Wuhan seen by Zhou Kun and his party still retained a considerable "big city" style. The wide and bustling streets, the bustling shops on the street, and the fashionable dress of the pedestrians along the street all show prosperity and prosperity to the world.
During his 10-day stay in Wuhan, Zhou Kun had to deal with the high-ranking Kuomintang anti-Japanese officers every day, many of whom had a good life, sitting in a group of wives and concubines, and a grand mansion, looking like a soaring yellow tengda.
Zhou Kun also wanted to be like them, paying for a rickshaw driver and going to a meeting like a decent one. However, the Communist Party's anti-Japanese foundation was thin, oil and water were small, and it all relied on the support of the people, and the only little funds were allocated to the soldiers on the front line, where there was still money for him to take rickshaws.
Moreover, the true color of the Communists is to be diligent and frugal, and to take a rickshaw in their view is a "luxury waste" and "exploitation of the people", which not only cannot be sat, but must also be strictly prohibited. In order to prevent party members from becoming corrupt and degenerate, gradually degenerating and staying away from the masses.
Zhou Kun could only return to the Shanxi front with a stomach full of unhappiness, and he had begun to doubt the significance of his own war of resistance: the same is all anti-Japanese, why can others be pampered and superior, but he himself has to be diligent and thrifty?
The prosperity of Wuhan also greatly impacted his soul, Zhou Kun was born in the countryside of Hunan, although the conditions of the family are not bad, but it is only an ordinary local landlord and squire, whether it is insight or conditions are not as good as those officers from the city, or even those who have stayed in the west.
Everything that was common in the eyes of senior Kuomintang officers was, for him, the unattainable "Elysium World." Under their brilliance, Zhou Kun felt like a beggar, just losing face all the time when he came out.
In the face of Peng Dehuai and Zuo Quan, who were still fighting on the front line, and the joy of reuniting with his comrades, he also poured out the bitter water that had accumulated in his heart: he complained that this time in Wuhan, he was "too poor and sour", like a group of countrymen who had never seen the world.
Seeing that Zhou Kun had a tendency to "waver," Peng Dehuai, a determined Communist Party member, keenly perceived the changes in his thinking and reminded him not to blindly covet material life.
He criticized Zhou Kun: "This is the fundamental position of our view of the problem, and the reason why the Communist Party is the Communist Party and not the Kuomintang is because we always stand on the position of the broadest masses of the people, work hard and simple to be a pioneer, and seek the welfare of the people, rather than just caring for our own enjoyment." ”
He also pointed out: The front line is tight, the rear should be tight, and the valuable military expenses should be on the blade, and the Communists should be able to save and save.
However, full of envy for a luxurious life, how could Zhou Kun listen to Marshal Peng's advice against his ears? He was a little unconvinced, and retorted on the spot: "How small a thing, is it necessary to be on the line like this?" ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="10" > the whereabouts of the pay are unknown</h1>
Zhou Kun was angry and frustrated, and for more than ten years of revolution, the ups and downs were all overcome, and there was never a single mistake. When he reached his thirties, his family did not succeed in business, and he spent all day on the battlefield uncertain of his life and death.
Almost immediately, he thought of the 60,000 yuan of military salaries he had received from the Kuomintang 2nd Theater Headquarters when he was in Wuhan. Looking at this heavy banknote, Zhou Kun's heart itched.
He secretly took 30,000 pieces, and the remaining 30,000 pieces were brought to the headquarters of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army by his guards, and Wang Bingzhang, who was the chief of the operations section at the time, disappeared himself.
The news of Zhou Kun's disappearance soon alarmed the Eighth Route Army Headquarters, who thought that everything would go smoothly, but they did not expect that people and money were empty, and everyone was anxiously looking for Zhou Kun's whereabouts. However, there was no news, and at this time it was unanimously concluded: Zhou Kun was afraid that the volume had absconded.
During the war years, human life was as fragile as grass, and soon everyone forgot About Zhou Kun. However, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, there began to be a lot of opinions about the whereabouts of Zhou Kun.
Some people think that he had already defected to the enemy with this huge amount of money and joined the Japanese army. However, no matter from Zhou Kun's personality, experience, or whether he left the other half of the military salary for our party, this possibility is very slim.
Some people also believe that Zhou Kun should be anonymous and return to the countryside of Pingjiang, Hunan Province, to live a small life. If this is true, then why did the Eighth Route Army search for his traces for so long and not find a single bit of news?
In addition, there are also theories of going to the sea to do business, absconding overseas, looting and being killed, and so on, but each one is more difficult to withstand scrutiny than the other. Since then, the whereabouts of Zhou Kun, a senior officer, have become an "unsolved mystery" in the history of the War of Resistance Against Japan.
There is a way that "a mistake becomes a thousand ancient hatreds", and the turning point of life occurs in one thought. And Zhou Kun is undoubtedly a typical example of not keeping the bottom line in a single thought, and finally falling. His ending showed the hardship and greatness of the War of Resistance Against Japan, as well as the justice and glory of the Communists.