How the real mountain eagle was captured in history

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On February 7, 1947, Yang Zirong, the fighting hero of the Mudanjiang Military Division of the Northeast People's Liberation Army, captured Zhang Leshan, the "mountain eagle", alive. Yang Zirong can be said to be a household name in China. However, the Yang Zirong that everyone knows is the image created in novels, movies and the stage. The real-life Yang Zirong - a special reconnaissance hero who repeatedly performed extraordinary feats in the battle against bandits in Northeast China. The real situation is not fully understood. What kind of person was Yang Zirong, what were his early life experiences, and what little-known stories did he have after his sacrifice? Let’s talk about it in today’s “Ancient and Modern Figures.”

Interlude of "Characters of Ancient and Modern Times"

Yang Zirong was born in Muping County, Shandong Province. Life at home was very hard when I was young. In the autumn of 1945, 29-year-old Yang Zirong signed up for the Eighth Route Army and was incorporated into the Jiaodong Naval Detachment. In late October 1945, the Jiaodong Naval Detachment was sent to the Mudanjiang area to suppress bandits. At that time, the commander saw that he was a veteran with "not a young age and not long military service", so he assigned him to work as a cook in the kitchen. Yang Zirong is a qualified cook. He often braves enemy artillery fire to deliver hot meals to the front line. At critical moments, he also advises the platoon commander and company commander and serves as a staff officer. His performance has been unanimously praised by the commanders and soldiers.

At that time, banditry was serious in the Mudanjiang area. Yang Zirong's unit is responsible for suppressing bandits. At this time, Yang Zirong had transformed from a cook into a soldier in the combat force. In the subsequent battle against bandits, Yang Zirong showed extraordinary wit and bravery. Especially during the battle against bandits at the foot of the apricot tree, he broke into the enemy formation alone and persuaded more than 400 bandits to surrender. He was regarded as a leader in the battle against bandits. Miracle.

Xingshudi Village is a mountain village located in the north of Mudanjiang. More than 400 bandits who fled from various places gathered here. On March 22, the battle against the remaining bandits at Xingshudi began, with Yang Zirong leading the sharp knife squad at the forefront. However, due to the fierce firepower of the enemy, many attacks were organized but failed. In order to end the battle as soon as possible and reduce troop casualties, the headquarters ordered artillery support. After several rounds of artillery fire, smoke billowed from the enemy position and the village, but the cries of women and children in the village were faintly heard. If the fight continues, although the bandits can be eliminated, the people in the village will also suffer greater losses. During a break in the shelling, Yang Zirong emerged from the ditch in one stride, waving a white towel, and went straight to the village to persuade the bandits to surrender.

Inspired by Yang Zirong's rational and emotional propaganda, many bandits began to waver. In this way, a bloody battle was resolved by Yang Zirong's brave actions.

The news that Yang Zirong persuaded 400 bandits to surrender quickly spread throughout the army. The army leader decided to let Yang Zirong do reconnaissance work in the regiment and serve as the platoon leader of the regiment's reconnaissance platoon. The burden on his shoulders became even greater. Heavy.

After nearly a year of fighting against bandits, large groups of bandits have been basically eliminated, but there are still many small groups of bandits consisting of twenty or thirty people, and they are more hidden and cunning, nicknamed The "Mountain Eagle" bandit is one of them.

The real name of "Zuoshan Diao" is Zhang Leshan. He joined the mountains as a bandit at the age of 15 and became a bandit leader at the age of 18. He has been a bandit for more than 50 years. This man is scheming and cunning, and is quite famous among the gangsters. He is known internally as "Third Master". At that time, Zhang Zuolin and the Japanese army both wanted to eliminate him, but they failed. After Japan surrendered, he accepted the appointment of the Kuomintang and became the "Commander of the Second Detachment of the Second Column of the Northeast Advance Army of the Kuomintang." After our anti-bandit troops stationed in the Mudanjiang area, they conducted many sieges against this group of bandits and eliminated most of their troops. Only twenty or thirty close confidants were left, hiding in the mountains and old forests, waiting for the arrival of the Kuomintang army. . And he often haunts the mountains and forests, robs people, kills my cadres, and continues to do evil.

According to past experience, it is not feasible to use large forces to encircle and suppress such small groups of bandits. The regiment decided that Yang Zirong would lead five scouts to form a bandit suppression team, dress up as bandits, go into the mountains to search for the "Mountain Eagle"'s bandit nest, and wait to eliminate it.

On January 26, 1947, after receiving the order, Yang Zirong and his party of 6 set off deep into the dense forest in the north of Hailin.

They wandered in the deep mountains and old forests for several days before they found a work shed in a place called Toad Pond. There were more than a dozen people living in the work shed, who looked like lumberjacks. Yang Zirong first used bandit gestures and slang to test the situation, which meant that he was in trouble and had no choice but to ask someone to help him find a way to escape to a mountain. No one answered them at first, but later, a foreman who called himself Meng talked and agreed to take them to meet two people.

One claimed his surname was Liu and was the adjutant of the "Mountain Eagle", and the other was called the company commander. The two agreed to introduce Yang Zirong and others to the mountain, and said they would go down the mountain to have some wine and meat in preparation. Celebrate the Lantern Festival on the mountain, and after reporting to the "Third Master", he will pick them up the mountain to join the gang.

Two days later, the two of them came to the work shed where Yang Zirong and the others lived as promised. Yang Zirong asked the soldiers to kidnap the two bandits, and pretended to explain: Now I don't know if they are one of my own, so I have to feel aggrieved first and talk about it when we get to the mountain. The two bandits thought they would find out when they reached the mountain, so they didn't care too much, so they led Yang Zirong and the others straight to "Weihu Mountain".

The "Mountain Eagle" is really cunning. He has set up three checkpoints along the way. If a large force had been sent to clear it out, no matter which checkpoint was disturbed, the bandits would have been able to escape without a trace. Every time Yang Zirong and the others passed a checkpoint, two bandits came up to talk to them. Then, they tied up the sentry and escorted them up the mountain together. Not far after passing the third checkpoint, we arrived at the home of the "mountain eagle" - a wooden shed known as the "horse frame house" by the locals.

Yang Zirong ordered three soldiers to watch the bandits outside. He led the other two soldiers into the shed, each occupying a favorable position, and pointed their guns at the bandits. There were a group of seven bandits in the shed. One of them was a thin old man with white hair, a dark face, a hooked nose, and a goatee, who was the infamous "Mountain Eagle." Yang Zirong ordered the soldiers to kidnap "Mountain Eagle" and several other bandits.

This time the bandit suppression was a complete victory. Without firing a single shot, the bandits' lair was taken away and the cunning "Mountain Eagle" and 13 bandits were captured alive.

After the "mountain eagle" has been eliminated, the work of suppressing bandits is not over. On February 20, Yang Zirong received a new task. This time he was responsible for clearing out the remaining bandits operating in the Lishugou area in northern Hailin.

After several days of reconnaissance, Yang Zirong and several scouts discovered the place where the bandits were hiding in a place called Naozhigou. After confirming that the bandits had not noticed, Yang Zirong and several scouts rushed into the room. In the panic, the bandits started firing guns. Yang Zirong immediately pulled the trigger of the gun. It may be that the weather was too cold and the needle of the gun was frozen. Start. At this time, a bullet was fired from the house and hit Yang Zirong in the chest. Yang Zirong staggered for a few times and then fell down.

Yang Zirong was only 30 years old when he died and had only been in the army for more than a year. Since entering Hailin to suppress bandits in February 1946, he has participated in hundreds of battles, large and small, and each time he has successfully completed the tasks assigned by his superiors.

Let’s talk about the hero’s behind-the-scenes.

After Yang Zirong joined the army, he went with the army to the Northeast to participate in the intense battle against bandits. He never had time to write letters to his family. The family only knew that Yang Zirong joined the Eighth Route Army and did not know where he went to fight. They did not know that he became a fighting hero in the army and died gloriously, nor did they know that he took Yang Zirong's name. On the contrary, Yang Zirong often disguised himself as a bandit for reconnaissance in the Northeast, which brought a lot of trouble to his family. It turned out that a man in the village who had returned from the Northeast said that he had seen Yang Zirong in Mudanjiang and said that he was dressed as a bandit and that he might have become a bandit. For this reason, the village canceled Yang Zirong's family's military benefits and no longer farmed for his family. After Yang Zirong's mother Song Xuezhi heard about it, she didn't believe it was true, so she asked the village cadres for comment. The village cadre said, everyone has seen it, how can it be false? Song Xuezhi refused to accept it, so she carried dry food on her back and went to the district, county, and region to search. Finally, in January 1957, she received a "Missing Soldier Notice". The notice read: "After review, it was confirmed that Comrade Yang Zonggui was a missing soldier, and his family members still enjoy preferential treatment as the family members of revolutionary soldiers." In November 1958, in accordance with relevant regulations, the government issued a "Glorious Memorial Certificate for the Families of Revolutionary Soldiers" to Yang Zirong's family.

In 1966, Song Xuezhi passed away. The old man didn't know until his death that Yang Zirong, the hero in the model drama "Taking Tiger Mountain by Wisdom" she watched every day, was her biological son.

In Hailin, the people of Hailin are also running to find the hero’s hometown. In 1966, the Hailin County Party Committee organized a special investigation team to investigate Yang Zirong's situation and went to Jiaodong to investigate and find Yang Zirong's hometown. The investigation team conducted painstaking and meticulous investigations for more than half a year. It was finally confirmed that Yang Zonggui, the missing soldier in Xiahe Village, Mouping County, was Yang Zirong. In 1974, when a photo of Yang Zirong, who was named a combat model in suppressing bandits in Northeast China, was sent to Yang Zirong's brother Yang Zongfu, the old man couldn't help but burst into tears and had mixed feelings. His brother, who had been missing for many years, was finally found.

The cadres and masses in Yang Zirong’s hometown also feel extremely proud and honored to have such a heroic figure. They built the "Martyr Yang Zirong Memorial Hall" on the west side of the Lei Temple where the martyrs gathered in the army in the south of the city, so that the brave and fearless revolutionary spirit of the martyrs became a spiritual force that inspired the people of the county to forever forge ahead.