Zhang Xiaosan beckoned, and the command car that swam forward immediately stopped in front of Han Xing. Han Xing climbed into the command car that swam forward, and in the strong smell of diesel fuel and the constant bumps of the tank car, tiredness immediately brought a burst of sleepiness, and he fell asleep in a daze after a while......

In his sleep, Zhang Zizhong's figure flashed in his mind again, and it became clearer and taller......

When General Zhang Zizhong was honorably martyred, he was 49 years old!

At the same time, Ma Xiaotang was also shot and fell!

Only the guard Gu Ruixue was not shot at that time, and he struggled to escape to a nearby wheat field. Seeing that he was alone, the Japanese soldiers were not interested in chasing him, so they strafed him from a distance. Gu Ruixue was shot three times in the shoulder, buttocks, and thighs, and fell to the ground and passed out. Fortunately, he was young and tenacious, survived and was rescued by the helicopter formation of the Southern Expeditionary Army.

Major Ma Xiaotang was also seriously wounded and was captured by the Japanese in a coma, but escaped later.

He was rescued by the common people and sent to the headquarters of the 179th Division that came for reinforcements. At that time, Xu Tingrui, chief of staff of the 179th Division, recalled: Four villagers carried the seriously injured adjutant Ma Xiaotang to the division headquarters in a large basket. Ma Xiaotang was so badly injured that his voice was so low that I could hear it clearly by putting my ear to the top of his mouth.

Major Ma was seriously wounded and martyred later!

After Zhang Zizhong was martyred, at first the Japanese army did not know who he was, but only thought that he was a high-ranking officer.

According to the devil's own account: when cleaning the battlefield later, the soldier Fujioka also took out a Parker gold pen from the general's breast pocket.

He took a closer look, and there were three words "Zhang Zizhong" engraved on it. The group of Japanese soldiers was greatly shocked, and could not help but take a few steps back, "snapped" upright, and respectfully saluted the body. Then he leaned forward and carefully looked at the blood-stained "big Chinese" lying in front of him wearing a general's uniform and a lieutenant general's collar badge.

In the culture of the Japanese, those who die for the nation are true heroes. Zhang Zizhong, as a general, was martyred in hand-to-hand combat, and he was really an incomparable hero. The Japanese are extremely worshipful of this kind of behavior, and they themselves are proud of it.

This group of Japanese soldiers reported the news of Zhang Zizhong's martyrdom to the commander of the 231st Wing, Takehiko Yokoyama. Yokoyama ordered that General Zhang's body be carried on a stretcher to the headquarters of the 39th Division of the Japanese Army in Chenjiaji, and that the chief of staff of the division, Shoda Shengshou, who had met Zhang Zizhong, be personally examined.

Moritoshi Shoda was a graduate of the 30th class of the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School, a classmate of Zhang Zizhong, and later served as a senior staff officer in the former Chinese garrison army. During this period, he met and negotiated with Zhang Zizhong many times during his stay in Beiping and Tianjin, so he knew Zhang Zizhong very well.

Zhuan Tian Shengshou hurriedly rushed to Chenjiaji, and it was already late at night. Moritoshi took the candle and looked at it carefully for a long time, and finally saw a black mole on his cheek. He was silent for a while, and said sadly: "That's right, this is indeed Zhang Zizhong!" ”

According to the memories of the devils, those present cheered in celebration of victory, followed by a silent solemnity.

The commander of the division, Murakami Keisaku, ordered the military doctor to carefully scrub Zhang Zizhong's body with alcohol, wrap it in bandages, and ordered someone to make a coffin from the nearby Weihuashan carpenter shop, solemnly put the body into the coffin, and bury it on the soil slope behind the Chen family ancestral hall. ”

Japan Radio immediately broadcast the news, but their emphasis was very different from what it used to be.

Compared with the arrogant and arrogant press releases in the past, they said at this time: Commander-in-Chief Zhang died calmly with a calm and calm attitude in the face of danger and the demeanor of a dignified general, and he really deserves to be a great husband admired by the army and the people. On the desolate battlefield, the officers and men of the 39th Division of our Imperial Army offered the most sincere and reverent silent prayer to the peerless brave generals who died in heroic battles, and solemnly collected the remains into coffins.

More than 20 years later, when Okamura Ningji, who did not participate in the battle, chatted with He Yingqin, he also showed extreme respect for Zhang Zizhong:

"We've become rivals, but it's a wonderful rival. As you may know, I had met Commander Zhang Zizhong in Beiping, and after the attack on Hankow, it was unfortunate that we faced off in the battle on the east bank of the Han River (i.e., the Xiang River). At that time, when the war broke out, Mr. Zhang marched forward bravely, crossed the river with his troops, and entered our position, but when our side attacked forward due to strategic relations, he actually rushed behind our army and died. I am deeply moved by his death. ”

On the 18th, after learning of Zhang Zizhong's martyrdom, Chiang Kai-shek was very sad and ordered Feng Zhi'an, the acting commander of the group army, and Huang Weigang, the commander of the 38th Division, to recapture Zhang Zizhong's body at all costs.

Chiang Kai-shek wrote in a telegram to Feng Zhi'an: "I learned that the commander-in-chief of Xinchen personally came to the front line to supervise the battle, and died heroically, and the bad news came, and I was very sad!" Gu Xinchen is loyal and heroic, sacrificed to become benevolent, his original ambition, a glorious death, and shines for a thousand years! However, in the middle of this Anti-Japanese War, the stars suddenly died, causing the country to lose the Great Wall, and the losses were too great, how could it be embarrassing?

In this remembrance of the robe that has been trusted and loved, I can't help but grieve for those who are endless! To the dedication of the revolution, the merit lies in the party and the state, and all the commendation and compensatory matters should be drawn up in detail and submitted to the government for implementation. In his department, he asked his brother to be good at comforting, and to carry on the legacy of Commander-in-Chief Xun Chen, and to be more vigilant. It is my hope to take revenge on the shame and complete the final victory of the Anti-Japanese War to comfort its soul in the sky!

Smelling the suddenness, failed to fulfill the intention. Has the body been recovered? Details of his death are expected to be reported in detail.

Zhongzheng"

After Zhang's body was recovered, the acting commander of the group army, Feng Zhi'an, and two Soviet advisers tearfully examined the body. They found that General Zhang had eight wounds all over his body: in addition to the shell wounds on his right shoulder and right leg and the bayonet wound on his abdomen, he was hit by one bullet on his left arm, left rib, right chest, right abdomen, and right forehead.

Feng Zhi'an, who was crying bitterly, ordered the medical team to re-scrub the body, treat it with medicine, give Zhang Zizhong breeches, military uniform, wear a general's collar badge, wear high riding boots, and bury him in a Nanmu coffin.

Originally, the Russians were the toughest people, and when their men became adults, they could only shed blood and never tears, otherwise they would be cowards and cowards who could not survive in society. But the two Soviet advisers were also deeply moved by General Zhang's feat, and could not help but cry silently.

On the morning of May 21, Li Zhiyuan and Xu Weilie, advisers to join the army who broke through the siege, were ordered by General Feng Zhi'an to personally set off from Kuaihuopu in six trucks to escort Zhang Zizhong's coffin to Chongqing, and tens of thousands of people went out to pay respects along the way.

On the morning of May 28, the ship arrived in Chongqing, and 100,000 people set up a memorial under Chuqimen. Chiang Kai-shek personally led Feng Yuxiang, He Yingqin, Kong Xiangxi, Song Ziwen, Sun Ke, Yu Youren, Zhang Qun and other military and political officials, with black veils on their arms, and stood solemnly to welcome the spirit.

Chiang Kai-shek was a very serious man all his life, and the adjutants who had followed him for decades had never seen him cry or say a joke.

This time, Chiang Kai-shek actually cried in the coffin, and he was extremely sad!

On the afternoon of the 28th, Chiang Kai-shek personally officiated at the ceremony, and hundreds of military and political officials and representatives from all walks of life held a grand memorial ceremony for Zhang Zizhong. On the same day, Chiang Kai-shek, in the name of chairman of the Military Commission, sent a telegram to the whole army, commending General Zhang Zizhong's merits.

On the afternoon of August 15, more than 1,000 representatives from all walks of life in Yan'an, the Communist Party of China, also held a grand memorial meeting for Zhang Zizhong. In the center of the rostrum hangs a huge portrait of Zhang Zizhong. Communist Party of China leaders Mao Zedong, Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, Peng Dehuai respectively inscribed memorials, Commander-in-Chief Zhu De laid a wreath on behalf of the Eighth Route Army, and read out the memorial text.

In May 1941, the Nationalist Government built a monument to the "General Zhang Zizhong Martyrdom" on the hill where General Pumpkin Dian was martyred, and built a ten-mile Changshan Cemetery of Fallen Officers and Soldiers at the foot of the mountain. In 1945, in order to commemorate General Zhang Zizhong, Yicheng County, Hubei Province was changed to "Zizhong County" (the establishment of Yicheng County was restored in 1949).

On March 13, 1947, the Beiping Municipal Government issued an order to change the Tieshi Hutong to Zhangzizhong Road, and the name of the road is still used today. There is Zhang Zizhong Road on the west bank of the Haihe River in Heping District, Tianjin, and Zhang Zizhong Road in Shanghai and Wuhan to commemorate it.

In 1951, Jiang Zhongzheng inspected Alishan and renamed a place in the district to Zizhong to commemorate Zhang Zizhong.

Zhang Zizhong's military rank at the time of martyrdom was a second-class general and commander of the group army. He was one of the commanders of the two group armies who were martyred in the Anti-Japanese War, and he was also the highest-ranking general among the Allied countries in World War II.

The most tragic thing is that after sorting out General Zhang's luggage, the adjutants tried to find out the property or will left to his family, but they searched and searched, but they never found it, and they did not find any property and deposits.

The adjutants continued to look for him, and his younger brother Zhang Ziming, who came to deal with Zhang Zizhong's funeral, said: "Don't look for it, if he loves money and thinks about his family, he won't be like this!" ”

In fact, Zhang Zizhong's family was not good at that time. His wife, Li Minhui, who has been married for more than 30 years, was already terminally ill of cancer and was being treated at the Shanghai Concession Hospital. The three children are not very old, the eldest is only 17 years old, and the younger is only 6 years old, and they are also in urgent need of someone to take care of them.

For the sake of the country and the nation, Zhang Zizhong had to ignore his small family. After learning the news of her husband's death, Lee Min Hui was devastated and passed away 3 months later!

In an ordinary farmhouse in Dahong Mountain, the temporary residence of the Southern Expeditionary Army, the Southern Expeditionary Army was holding another military meeting, mainly to discuss the success or failure of the battle of the pumpkin shop.

Fighting a battle and summing up once is also a characteristic of the Southern Expeditionary Army. Find out the lessons of success and failure in war, and learn from war in order to gain more theoretical knowledge for the next battle.

The meeting was still presided over by Liu Zhiyuan, and almost all the participants except for the Air Force arrived, and everyone at the meeting had a calm face, and none of them looked happy.

Yes, in this battle, the special operations battalion and the guard battalion suffered heavy losses. More than 300 people in the special operations battalion suffered nearly 200 casualties. There were more than 300 people in the guard battalion, and more than 100 casualties, and if it weren't for the support of the air force and tank battalion, these people might not have been able to come back.