Military Reporter's Roots Journey | Tracing the Footsteps of Founding General Chen Geng, Reflecting on the Way of Command for Senior Commanders
Tracing the footsteps of Founding General Chen Geng, reflecting on the way of command for senior commanders——
"You Have Always Been on the Road"
■ PLA Daily Reporter Feng Yunhe
"You have always been on the road… how I wish I could become like you…"
In the blazing summer heat, at Chen Geng Square of the National University of Defense Technology, cadets about to graduate sang this song together as they posed for photographs with the statue of General Chen Geng.
The statue stands tall and imposing, the general striding forward. The cadets said: this is a portrait of General Chen Geng's entire life — he was always rushing about with passion, until the very last moment of his life.
Today, 65 years have passed since General Chen Geng's death. What kind of man was this founding general, who time and again turned the tide in the revolutionary years and struck terror into the enemy? What unique qualities did he possess? What is it that makes military academy students today still think of him so often, and long to become him?
Recently, the Military and Political Basic Education College of the National University of Defense Technology organized a themed Party Day activity at Chen Geng Square. Photo by Bu Cancan.
Disabled Legs That Traversed Ten Thousand Mountains and Rivers
On the morning of June 3, the reporter visited Chen Geng's daughter, Chen Zhijin, at her home.
The moment the door opened, the reporter's heart gave a start — in a trance, it was as if Chen Geng himself stood there. The elderly woman, past seventy and slight of frame, had eyes strikingly like her father's, full of life and spirit.
"Our understanding of our father deepened step by step," she said. Chen Geng had died when Chen Zhijin was only eleven, and she had not yet been able to comprehend her father's magnificent life. She said: "Father rarely spoke to us about his wartime experiences. The one he recounted in some detail was the story of rescuing Chiang Kai-shek during the Eastern Expedition, and Chiang Kai-shek's later attempt to persuade him to surrender."
That was October 1925, during the Second Eastern Expedition of the National Revolutionary Army. In one battle, Commander-in-Chief Chiang Kai-shek was surrounded by the enemy. Chen Geng, who had graduated from the Whampoa Military Academy and was serving as a company commander, carried Chiang Kai-shek — whose legs had gone weak — out of danger on his back.
Chiang Kai-shek held Chen Geng in high regard and transferred him to serve as an aide-de-camp: following close behind him whenever he went out, free to enter and leave his quarters at will. Many people said: "Chen Geng is about to soar to great heights." Unexpectedly, before long, Chen Geng submitted a letter of resignation to Chiang Kai-shek.
"Father was a man of clear loves and hates. He once spoke to us with contempt about the reactionary nature of Chiang Kai-shek that he had seen through, and he bitterly denounced the traitor Gu Shunzhang, who had sold his soul," said Chen Zhijin.
Years later, when Chen Geng saw Chiang Kai-shek again, he had gone from honored guest to prisoner. In 1933, betrayed by a traitor, Chen Geng was unfortunately arrested. The enemy escorted him to Nanchang, where Chiang Kai-shek personally appeared to persuade him to surrender, offering him the titles of "Front Commander-in-Chief" and "Nanjing Garrison Commander." Chen Geng stood firm with righteous indignation and furiously rebuked Chiang Kai-shek: "I will absolutely never serve as an official under you. If you want to beat me, beat me; if you want to kill me, kill me!"
There is a memory that has never left Chen Zhijin's mind: her father once arranged for his children to visit the ruins of the prison where he had been held captive. The forbidding, cold dungeons and water cells were bone-chilling. The story of their father singing "The Internationale" again and again in prison educated and influenced them for the rest of their lives.
On July 1, the reporter accompanied Chen Zhijin to Chen Geng's former residence in Beijing — No. 41 Lingjing Hutong. After so many years, traces of Chen Geng's life there are difficult to find. Leafing through a thick old photo album, the reporter came across a little-known photograph. In the photograph were Chen Geng's legs, covered in the wounds of war — the middle of the left tibia protruded, the muscles twisted and deformed; on the outer side of the leg were three scars, the marks left by bullets that had passed through the bone.
In 1927, after Chen Geng participated in the Nanchang Uprising and marched south with the troops, his left leg was struck by bullets three times. Blood poured out and he could not move. Watching the enemy close in step by step, he had the presence of mind to strip off his military uniform, hold his breath, and feign death — and so narrowly escaped.
On May 22, 1949, Chen Geng led his forces to liberate Nanchang. Walking into her father's old study, Chen Zhijin took a stack of "battlefield diaries" from a suitcase. The reporter opened one of them — a black hardcover volume marked "1949" — and learned of Chen Geng's state of mind that day: "This time I come here in the posture of a victor. The three previous times I entered this city, I was either a fugitive, or a prisoner, or unable to hold my ground… Without those three previous times, there would be no today's glory of the people."
Over decades of military life, Chen Geng dragged his disabled legs along the long road of the Long March, fighting from the Land Revolution War all the way through the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea. Were the trials he endured limited to those "three previous times"?
"I can hardly imagine how he made it through. Father was simply that kind of pure man — from the very beginning he gave everything he had to the revolutionary cause, and long since transcended himself…" said Chen Zhijin.
Battle-Hardened Steps That Crossed the Threshold of Victory
In the television drama "Bright Sword," there is a scene in which the enraged Japanese forces write in Chinese on an armored vehicle: "Specifically targeting the 386th Brigade's Independent Regiment."
This was not fiction. In battles such as Shentouling, Xiangtangpu, and the Qinyuan Campaign, the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army's 129th Division always struck by surprise and defeated larger forces with smaller ones, cumulatively annihilating tens of thousands of enemy troops, making the Japanese forces both hate and fear them.
The commander of the 386th Brigade who directed this series of battles was none other than Chen Geng.
During the Long March, the "Cadre Regiment" he led was the "vanguard blade" that fought the hardest battles; during the War of Resistance, the 386th Brigade and Taiyue Column he led were the "blade behind enemy lines" that shook all of North China; during the War of Liberation, the "Chen-Xie Corps" he led was the "mobile iron fist" that decided the outcome in Central China… Why was it that no matter what combat mission they were assigned, the forces under Chen Geng's command always won resounding fame?
The reporter, carrying this question, made a special visit to Chen Geng's former residence in Xiangxiang, Hunan. The biographical exhibition hall inside the residence silently tells the story of Chen Geng's outstanding military command abilities.
In the special exhibition area on "Mastery of Ambush Warfare," the reporter noticed a comment made in January 1938 by Evans Carlson, counselor of the U.S. Embassy in China: the 386th Brigade was "the best brigade in China."
By coincidence, the Nationalist Army also had a unit that styled itself "the Number One Brigade Under Heaven." More coincidentally, before reorganization that brigade had been the 1st Division, and its former commander Hu Zongnan was Chen Geng's old classmate from the Whampoa Military Academy.
In 1946, Hu Zongnan led the "Number One Brigade Under Heaven" and other elite forces to attack the Taiyue Liberated Area, intending to settle accounts with his old classmate. The outcome left him utterly humiliated — the "crack force" he was so proud of was annihilated to the last man.
The "Number One Brigade Under Heaven" was no pushover. The brigade was entirely equipped with American weapons, had many veteran soldiers, possessed strong combat power, and its commanders generally held ranks one grade higher: Brigade Commander Huang Zhengcheng was a lieutenant general, and the two regimental commanders under him were both major generals.
War is also a contest of commanders. Shi Huaibi, who served as deputy commander of the temporary rear-area command during this campaign, once wrote a memoir article titled "The Art of Chen Geng's Command in Battle," in which he wrote: "He dispatched many capable and reliable scouts to ascertain the enemy's route of march and supply trains in detail… General Chen Geng calculated that the enemy would encamp at Dayang on a certain day… and made specific deployments for each regiment as to from which direction and along which road they would carry out the encirclement."
Superior command art is always built upon thorough preparation for war. Looking at the Nationalist Army by contrast, the captured Huang Zhengcheng still could not understand: "Your way of fighting is very strange. By rights you should have struck one of the two flanks; our 1st Brigade was in the middle, yet you struck us…"
A general without courage leaves the three armies without sharpness; a general without strategy brings the three armies to utter ruin.
After the battle, when Chen Geng's subordinate Zhou Xihan came face to face with Huang Zhengcheng, Huang Zhengcheng insisted on seeing Chen Geng in person. Zhou Xihan immediately replied: "Why use a butcher's cleaver to kill a chicken? To capture you, I, Zhou Xihan, am more than enough!" This battle commander, who had followed Chen Geng in battle from the time he served as operations section chief of the 386th Brigade, killed or captured 61 enemy generals over the course of his life.
The reporter contacted Shi Lailiang, the combat hero who had captured Huang Zhengcheng alive. He had fought under Zhou Xihan's command and is now 99 years old, living in a military rest home in Nanchang, Jiangxi. Speaking of Chen Geng and Zhou Xihan, the old man said with admiration: "There are no weak soldiers under a strong general. Not a single person trained by Commander Chen was wishy-washy — they were all fierce commanders. Back then, I was just a soldier and didn't understand tactics, but following them into battle, I felt very confident!"
In that campaign, the three main brigade commanders Chen Geng dispatched were Zhou Xihan, Li Chengfang, and Chen Kang — all battle commanders who had fought alongside Chen Geng for many years, and all three were awarded the rank of lieutenant general in 1955.
Each of them carried Chen Geng's imprint. Behind Chen Geng stood a constellation of shining stars.
Chiang Kai-shek once asked his subordinates: both sides came from Whampoa — why was there not a single Nationalist who could defeat Chen Geng? His generals fell collectively silent.
One good general is worth more than a million brave soldiers. Chen Zhijin said she had heard that senior Nationalist general Yu Hanmou, on his deathbed in Taiwan, said: "The reason we lost is that men like Chen Geng all went to the Communist Party."
A Burning Heart That Forged a Mighty Formation
On the banks of the Xiang River, summer heat steams and rises; the surging river rushes eastward.
The reporter came to the National University of Defense Technology, feeling as if touching the strong, beating pulse of cutting-edge national defense science and technology.
During the visit, the reporter's gaze was drawn to a set of satellite equipment. On the equipment, a household tape measure with a slightly worn surface was being used as an antenna, looking entirely out of place amid the surrounding precision high-end instruments.
This is the actual object of "Tiantu-1," the world's first single-board nano-satellite, independently developed by the university. Zhao Yong, who served as chief designer at the time, explained: "Traditional antennas are expensive. Through repeated verification, we found that the tape measure material fully met the requirements, saving hundreds of thousands of yuan in development costs."
After interviewing multiple faculty and students at the university, the reporter felt that "daring to walk roads no one has walked before, daring to think thoughts no one has thought before" seemed to be a quality they all shared. Luo Yougan, head of the university's history museum, said: "When General Chen Geng founded this school, he set the example for us of daring to venture into 'uncharted territory' (无人区)."
"Starting a new undertaking is difficult, but everything in the revolution is built from nothing… If I cannot run the Military Engineering Institute well, I swear I will not be fit to call myself a man!" This oath, sworn by Chen Geng in 1952 when he was ordered to establish the Military Engineering Institute (known as "Harbin Military Engineering Institute" or "Ha Junggong"), is now inscribed in the "Chen Geng's School Administration" exhibition area of the university's history museum.
No school buildings, no teaching materials, no faculty, no equipment… Chen Geng led faculty and students to overcome these difficulties one by one — in just one year, "Ha Junggong" rose from the ground.
In the years away from the smoke of battle, those disabled legs still did not rest, and that heart — made fragile by electric torture — still beat with fierce and ardent passion.
In December 1957, Chen Geng suffered a massive myocardial infarction and fell into a coma; the first words he spoke upon regaining consciousness were to ask about the matter of training personnel for the "Two Bombs" program. Two years later, Chen Geng suffered a second myocardial infarction, yet still constantly kept the cause of cutting-edge national defense on his mind. Chen Zhijin said that because her father's chest was often in pain, he would constantly rub his chest with his hand while working; over time, a patch of his shirt was worn through.
In the National University of Defense Technology's history museum, the reporter saw a photocopy of the "Report on Adjusting the Mission of the Military Engineering Institute" submitted by Chen Geng to the Central Military Commission. On that occasion, he put forward the concept of "concentrating on cutting-edge [programs], dispersing conventional [programs]" (尖端集中、常规分散) — separating some specializations and faculty from "Ha Junggong" to establish several new military academies, in order to meet the growing demand for national defense science and technology personnel; the restructured "Ha Junggong" would focus primarily on cultivating talent for cutting-edge technology research and design, with emphasis on providing personnel support for the "Two Bombs" program.
The reporter noted that this report was submitted in November 1959 — less than six months after Chen Geng had been discharged from the hospital…
Entering the School of Aerospace Science at the National University of Defense Technology, the reporter visited the "Talent Forest Phenomenon" exhibition hall. This school developed from the Missile Engineering Department established in 1959 and has to date produced more than ten academicians. Many of the science and technology innovation achievements on display in the hall have reached world-leading levels.
"Today, the original five departments of 'Ha Junggong' have taken root and flourished across the country, becoming the 'roots' of many military and civilian institutions. Most of the university's current colleges developed from the newly established specialized departments of that era, and they continue to this day to supply research personnel for key fields such as aerospace and electronic countermeasures," said Luo Yougan with deep feeling. "How far the general could see!"
Those deep, penetrating eyes saw far into today, and seemed also to see the end of life. In Chen Geng's former residence, beneath a final family photograph of Chen Geng with his family, these words are printed: "My time may not be long. Let me do more work. Tell the Central Health Bureau not to keep too tight a watch over me!"
On March 15, 1961, Chen Geng's condition flared again and he collapsed to the ground. Just the day before, despite hands and feet that were ice-cold, he had been bent over his desk writing a "Summary of Combat Experience," having just completed the "Preface" section: "In modern warfare, firepower has developed; new weapons such as atomic bombs and missiles have great destructive power… Our national defense industry and science and technology are not yet very advanced, cutting-edge breakthroughs have not yet been achieved, and the air defense system to counter missiles has not yet been resolved…"
The next day, Chen Geng passed away, at only 58 years of age. This shining star had released all of its energy for the revolutionary cause.
"Ci Yungui," "Song Wencong," "Lin Junde"… Today, around Chen Geng Square at the National University of Defense Technology, sculptures bearing the names of dozens of academicians stand in silent solemnity, like a mighty and imposing formation.
In the clear sunlight, a group of cadets walks toward the teaching building. The general's gaze rests upon them, as if conveying the charge of those years: "Great hopes are placed in you…"
(This interview received strong support from Zhang Zhaoxing, Zhang Chao, Liu Zhuo, Shou Baoshun, and Yu Lingping.)
Reporter's Notes
Because He Was Selfless, He Is Immortal
Marshal Chen Yi once said of Chen Geng: "Chen Geng is like a glass cup — clear and transparent from inside to outside." "Chen Geng is a magnet — witty and humorous, able to unite the great majority of people in revolution together." "Chen Geng is a cannon of our Party. It is a pity that we now have fewer such cannons; I hope there will be more like him"… During the reporter's interview, Chen Zhijin said: "To achieve these three things, one must first be selfless."
Because he was selfless, he is immortal. Selflessness is an outstanding quality of Communist Party members, and also an indispensable quality of a great-power battle commander. Only through selflessness can one face with pure conviction the trials of life and death, the trials of battle, and the trials of self-interest; only through selflessness can one pour one's lifelong passion into the journey of building a strong nation and a powerful military.
A thousand-weight burden on one's shoulders, a thousand armies and ten thousand soldiers at one's back. In today's era of profound transformation in the form of warfare, great-power battle commanders of the new era should carry a strong sense of historical mission and responsibility — studying war with meticulous care, preparing for war with single-minded focus, and throwing themselves into the battlefield with wholehearted ardor. This is the image that revolutionary forebears left for history, and it is also the image that great-power battle commanders of the new era should embody.
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