Chapter 11 3. Loyalty

The Thirteenth Army led by Dong Zhentang has been at the forefront of the entire army during the transformation process.This force was organized by the 73rd Brigade, and Dong Zhentang played a key role in it.He respected the political cadres sent by the Party Central Committee to work in the Thirteenth Army very much. He not only paid attention to learning from them, but also took the lead in correcting all non-proletarian ideological styles and leadership methods in the old army, and took the lead in supporting the Party's ideological and political leadership of this army. He actively assisted the party organization to do a good job in the ideological work of the officers and soldiers of the uprising, and often went deep into the grassroots of the army to share the joys and sorrows with the officers and soldiers at the lower level.

Lu Yunjiu, the major clerk of the 2nd Regiment of the 73rd Brigade, and Gao Zishang, the captain secretary, were both from Shaanxi. When the troops revolted, there was a severe drought in Shaanxi.First, I found the division commander Bian Zhangwu, and said: "There are regulations from above. The secretary of military supplies, military medical staff, and radio personnel are especially welcome to stay. They can't leave for the time being. You can see the commander again and see what he has to say." They were all old subordinates of Dong Zhentang, and they knew that the commander was an emotional and approachable person, so they came to Dong Zhentang together. When they mentioned the disaster in Shaanxi and the tragedy at home, Dong Zhentang listened silently, for a long time, He said: "What you said is the truth. I have seen it with my own eyes. I sympathize with you. How about this? I will make a report for you. As long as the higher authorities can approve it, I have no objection."

Soon, with the approval of their superiors, both left the army as they wished and returned home. Affected by the left-leaning ideology of "only soldiers, not officials", the Thirteenth Army also has some regiment, battalion, and company-level cadres who came from the uprising and will be sent home.In this regard, Dong Zhentang tried his best to restrain his emotions, patiently communicated with these officers, and did their ideological work well.At the same time, they actively recommended and guaranteed to higher-level party organizations, and retained many outstanding military cadres, including: Xu Dayue, Deng Youyi, Sun Buxia, Yang Tongsheng, Li Lianxiang, etc.These comrades quickly grew into the middle and senior commanders of our army. In the arduous revolutionary struggle, most of them gave their precious lives.

After a period of reorganization, the uprising troops gradually moved towards a real revolutionary army. Faced with the earth-shaking changes in the troops, Ji Zhentong saw it and was delighted.He once said with emotion to Zhao Bosheng, Dong Zhentang and others: "There are capable people in the Red Army! The political comrades sent by the Party Central Committee to our army are really good at it. Political Commissar Xiao is so young, but he is literary and military, let alone Director Liu. Lah! Chairman Mao is erudite and talented, he is the incarnation of Zhuge Liang..." Zhao Bosheng sighed: "I have been in the military for seventeen years, first in the Anhui Department, then in the Feng Department, and transferred to Mr. Feng's Northwest Army in 23 years. There are so many troops. Among them, only the Red Army led by the Communist Party can truly save the country and serve the people, and the path we followed was correct!" Dong Zhentang also said: "The Northwest Army failed in the Central Plains War. At that time, I realized that it was not the right path. I have visited several fraternal units of the Red First and Third Army Corps for a few days. To be honest, in terms of equipment, they are far behind ours, and in terms of individual military quality, they are also lower than our soldiers. But it is such a unit, but Repeatedly defeated Chiang’s regular army. When we first came, the 81st Brigade was raided by the Red Army and knocked out more than half of the brigade. There is a reason for this. There is also a style of play, and these two points alone are worth learning from and learning from!"

Soon, Ji Zhentong solemnly asked political commissar Xiao Jinguang to join the party, and he said quickly: "After entering the door of the Communist Party, I am a member of the Communist Party..." Xiao Jinguang was happy for his progress, but he was a little bit Difficult.To be honest, by the standards of a Communist Party member, he still has a big gap.But if he rejected him, can he be treated correctly with such a hot temper like him?If his mood plummets because of this, or he walks away, it will undoubtedly be detrimental to the insurgents who have just begun to reform.Xiao Jinguang patiently explained to Ji Zhentong: "Commander-in-Chief, I am very glad that you have made such progress in thinking. However, as a senior general, your request to join the party must be approved by the central government. I will report your request to the higher-level organization .”

Soon, with the approval of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission, with Zhu De and Zhou Enlai as the introducers, Ji Zhentong joined the Communist Party of China with honor. At the same time, Dong Zhentang, who served as the deputy commander-in-chief of the Legion and the commander of the Thirteenth Army, was also approved to join the party.On the same day, he excitedly found He Changgong, political commissar of the 13th Army, and said: "Commissioner He, I am already a member of the Communist Party. Communists cannot own private property. I still have a little savings in the old army, which is stored with the quartermaster. Take it out and hand it over to the organization!" He Changgong was very moved, and quickly persuaded: "You have worked so hard for half your life, should you leave some of this savings, because you still have old people, wives, and children at home!"

Dong Zhentang shook his head and insisted on handing over all of them as party dues. He said: "It's revolution, everything that is personal is handed over to the party, so why do you need money!" He Changgong explained: "That's right! You are a party member, but you have not long joined the party. Even if you pay all the party dues, the party will not take all of you. You should leave some of it for your family! Let's do this. You pay two-thirds and keep one third." The two fought back and forth in this way, and the final result of the discussion was: Dong Zhentang only agreed to keep one-fifth, which was about three hundred silver dollars.And the remaining silver coins were kept intact by the guard Gao Zhizhong, and he himself did not touch any of them.When encountering sick cadres and soldiers, he asked Xiao Gao to take out a little to nourish his body, and he didn't use up the three hundred silver dollars until the Long March.

While donating his savings, Dong Zhentang presented a Russian military blanket with a purple red background with white patterns to Commander-in-Chief Zhu De.Commander-in-Chief Zhu cherished this army blanket very much.From the Jiangxi Soviet Area to the northern Shaanxi base.During the Xi'an Incident in December 1936, the commander-in-chief donated the blanket to Vice Chairman Zhou Enlai to keep out the cold.Soon, Dong Zhentang died in the battle of Gaotai, and the bad news spread to Yan'an, and all the commanders and fighters grieved for it.Zhou Enlai is even more thoughtful about people when he sees things. He often strokes this blanket with his hands and teaches the comrades around him: "The revolution is not easy. If we win in the future, we must display the relics of these martyrs for future generations to admire... ..”

After the "July 7" incident, when Zhu De was about to go to the front line of the Anti-Japanese War, Vice Chairman Zhou gave the blanket back to Zhu De.With it, Zhu De dedicated it to the Chinese Revolutionary Military Museum after eight years of the War of Resistance Against Japan, three years of the War of Liberation, and until the liberation of the whole country.So far, this blanket is still lying there quietly. It records the sincere friendship between the older generation of proletarian revolutionaries, and it is also a historical witness of General Dong Zhentang's utter loyalty to the revolution.