Chapter 48 in memory forever

After a long time and a tortuous road, the song "Red Sorghum" sang the evocation of the national spirit of the Chinese nation during the Anti-Japanese War. Guangdong Magazine reported: “On the evening of April 2, 1991, the deputies to the National People’s Congress of Beijing’s Jingxi Hotel were staying. After dinner, the deputies to the National People’s Congress walked out of the heavily guarded gate of the Jingxi Hotel in twos and threes, and walked on the tree-lined sidewalk on Fuxing Road. The two A young man in his 30s came forward, holding a stack of photocopied materials and distributing them to every deputy to the National People's Congress wearing a red card. The materials were impressively written:

"China demands Japan's 'injury compensation' urgently!" This scene was repeated in the residences of various people's congresses located in the east, west, north, south, and north of Beijing.For a while, this 16-page opinion paper was widely circulated among the representatives attending the Fourth Session of the Seventh National People's Congress, and it aroused what is said to be "rare resonance and reaction in recent years." Because it brings up again a heavy topic that has been shelved for nearly half a century, and this topic is the issue of "compensation for victims" of Japan's invasion of China.

As the author said at the end of the article, is "compensation for victims" just a matter of money for the sons and daughters of China?No, I believe that more and more people will understand its meaning and connotation. Also as the author reminds people on the title: The history of the catastrophe suffered by the Chinese nation cannot be forgotten. This is the cry of half a century! In the winter of 1992, Li Yi'an, director of the Documentary Department of Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House, editor Chen Xinwen, and Tang Ming went to Nanyue to collect historical materials on the KMT's frontal battlefield during the War of Resistance Against Japan. visit.It was a sunny day, along the way, the breeze was refreshing, and the mountains were pleasant. The young driver may have been tempted by the nature, so he opened up his conversation box and chatted with them.

He said that he was a demobilized soldier and knew that many Chinese officers and soldiers who died during the Anti-Japanese War were displayed in the Martyrs' Shrine. "Is that what you're here to learn about?" the driver asked.They nodded. "Oh..." He was lost in thought.The car was still whizzing forward. "Hey, there's something going on in Martyr's Shrine, let me tell you." "Okay." They encouraged him. "This is a real thing. Social education cadres from two provinces, one old and one young, lived in the Martyrs' Shrine. That night, they were really tired after a long day's work, so they went to sleep early. Young The old one fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow, and soon snored loudly. The old one was very sleepy at first, but he couldn't fall asleep after lying down. , this old social education cadre slowly fell asleep. But after he fell asleep, he began to dream, dreaming that bayonets were dancing in front of him, and shells were exploding beside him. When he dreamed of a When a flame-breathing machine gun shot at him, he woke up in fright, and sat up with a sound of 'ah--'.

"At this time, he heard the miserable wind and rain outside the window, and the sound of killing shook the sky, as if there were thousands of troops galloping, fighting, and charging, and even he felt that in the fierce battle, the shouts from the officers and soldiers from within their lives were clearly heard There was a burst of reverberation in front of the window. He stayed up all night and sat on the quilt until dawn. After the rooster crowed in the farmhouse outside the temple, the old social education cadre got out of bed and opened the door to look outside. It was silent, without any abnormal phenomena.

"The old man told the younger one what happened at night, and the two went to the management staff of the Martyrs' Shrine to find out what happened. The management staff told them without any surprise, do you know what was buried on the hills near the Martyrs' Shrine? The bones of more than 2,700 anti-Japanese soldiers of the national army were buried! They were soldiers and fought. Can they endure loneliness when they are buried in the ground? Of course, they have to shout and fight every day, and charge drills. It sounds good. I heard it. The spirit! The manager of the martyr's shrine said proudly." The car continued to drive, and they were all silent.They didn't want to investigate the truth of this matter, but they were really shocked by the meaning contained in this anecdote.

They came to the Martyrs' Shrine.The environment here doesn't seem to give them more associations.I heard that on the nearby hills, there were indeed countless tombstones before the "Cultural Revolution", all of which were the burial places of the loyal souls of the Kuomintang anti-Japanese soldiers.However, during the "Cultural Revolution", a group of young Red Guards armed with knives and shovels rushed up and smashed all the tombs and steles. Cypress. It suddenly occurred to me that the shouts heard by the old social education cadre might not have been accurately explained by the administrators of the Martyrs' Shrine.The Anti-Japanese War has been won, and the mission of the soldiers has also been completed. Are their cries reminding every Chinese not to forget the deep humiliation suffered by the Chinese nation, and the Chinese people's spirit of self-improvement and striving for progress? ?Are their cries like a wake-up call urging us, descendants of the Yellow Emperor and future generations, to realize the dream of a powerful Chinese nation?They will not die with peace in their eyes!

After the Battle of Changde, Wang Yaowu, the commander of the 74th Army of the Kuomintang, and Dai Jiufeng, the county magistrate of Changde County, drew a large flat square with the old city wall as the background, facing the south and facing the West Waiqiang Street, in commemoration of the soldiers who died heroically defending the country The circular circle serves as the site of the Veterans Memorial Cemetery.This piece of land includes more than a dozen large and small streets including Front and Back Xinglong Street, Front and Back Zuolou Street, Wuhua Cave, Wuling Garden, Zuoping Nunnery, Hexiangzi, Widow Hall, Mixing Eye Cave, and West Wall, with a total area of ​​131 mu.

In 1944, the 74th Army was stationed at the Permanent Detention Office, and officially started construction in the above-mentioned area. A low eye-catching wall was built, and stone slabs, broken bricks, and broken tiles were collected, and the tomb was piled up into a large square platform with a length of 55 meters, a width of 45 meters, and a height of 0.8 meters. , covered with bluestone slabs. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in 1945, the 74th Army established an engineering department and rebuilt it.They got the design drawings from Nanjing, purchased the materials themselves, the local government assisted in hiring labor, and the military paid.After several months of intensive construction, the cemetery was inaugurated on November 23, 1945, and people from all walks of life in local groups were invited to participate.

The situation of the entire building complex at that time was: the main entrance of the cemetery was a memorial archway, and above it was an eleven-character horizontal plaque inscribed by Wang Yaowu, "Memorial Archway for the Fallen Soldiers in the Battle of Changde".This archway faces West Wall Street.On the top of the four cement and steel square columns in the memorial square, there are three horizontal plaques: the large plaque in the middle is "Heaven and Earth Righteousness" inscribed by Jiang Zhongzheng; the horizontal plaque on the left is "Blue Blood and Heart" inscribed by Chen Cheng; The plaque is inscribed by Bai Chongxi, "Flag Chang Bingyao".The couplets on the two square pillars in the middle of the main entrance are inscribed by the Changde County Senate Council, "The lonely army will be strong in blood for thousands of years; the loyal people will be buried in the cemetery".The couplets on the two square pillars on both sides of the main entrance are "aspirations and benevolence, Hengyue Yunfei thinks of martyrs; loyal heart defends the country, Chu Jiangyue hangs loyal souls coldly".Dozens of steps into the gate is a 9-meter-high memorial tower.The base and sides of the tower are square, and there are 12 stone steps built around the base of the tower, which can be stepped up.

The four sides of the base are made of marble, with inscriptions engraved by Dai Chuanxian, the president of the Kuomintang Examination, Yu Youren, the president of the Supervision, Sun Ke, the president of the Legislative Assembly, and Juzheng, the president of the Judiciary.Sun Ke's inscription is: "I have shown my loyalty to the sun and the moon, and I will remain majestic and majestic in Hunan." Yu Youren's inscription is: "Yu Youren died for the country, and he made meritorious service to Kyushu. On the body is Wang Yaowu's 18-character inscription "The Memorial Tower of the 74th Army Changde Battle". Behind the memorial tower is a generous platform, and in front of it is a memorial hall.The hall is a glazed tile palace-style building with an area of ​​less than 100 square meters.Behind the hall is the big tomb.The tomb is circular, with a diameter of about 10 meters and a height of 2 meters, and the surface is sealed with cement.In front of the tomb is a long stele built horizontally for eight generals and officials.The stele is divided into eight grids, each engraved with each person's name, rank and place of origin.There is a small altar in front of the stele for worship.These buildings face the gate and form a vertical line.Then build a hexagonal pavilion on the left and right sides of the gate, and in the middle of the pavilion stand two cement steles, engraved with the "Changde Battle Record" written by Wang Yaowu and Zhang Lingfu, the two commanders of the 74th Army. In the early days of liberation, the Communist Party and the People's Government retained the original buildings.Later, some Chinese didn't like this part of the Chinese people, so they used cement to paste all the handwriting on the gate archway and the monument. After that, most of the buildings were demolished successively, and the workers' cultural palace and library were built. .In this way, the course of the Battle of Changde gradually became unknown, and even in Changde, only the elderly over the age of 80 had a little memory. In 1992, during an interview in Changde, the author learned that the relevant departments were going to raise funds to rebuild the Changde Battle Martyrs Cemetery. I think that rebuilding the cemetery is not for an ancient ceremony of respect, but for eternal commemoration. Am i right?