Her longing is very long - the story of the hero Wang Jie and his fianc é e Zhao Yingling, whose life is short. Wang Jie | Deng Xiaoping | Liu Bocheng

On July 14, 2023, the 58th anniversary of Wang Jie's sacrifice, people saw a group photo of Zhao Yingling and Wang Jie in the documentary "Searching for Wang Jie" broadcasted on Shandong TV that evening. At this point, it had been over a year since their first group photo.

Zhao Yingling and 80 year old Wang Jie's simulated portrait painted by Lin Yuhui through technological synthesis

The youth has a heroic dream

A nation cannot live without heroes. How are the heroes who support the spiritual backbone of the country and nation refined? Looking back at Wang Jie's 23 years of brief and brilliant life, you will find that the starting point of a hero is the star that rose in his heart when he was young.

Liu Bocheng, commander of the Jin Ji Lu Yu Field Army, and Deng Xiaoping, political commissar, once again performed the skillful act of "encircling the Three Queries and One", setting up a pocket formation for the 199th Brigade of the Nationalist Reorganized 66th Division to rescue the besieged Yangshan at Wanfu River in Jinxiang. This day was July 13, 1947.

Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping on the Yangshan Front

That was the longest resistance battle in the Liberation War. I, Li Desheng, the commander of the 17th Brigade of the 6th Column, followed the deployment of Commander Liu and Deng, and opened up a loophole and left a way for survival. I commanded the troops to intercept the Wanfu River for 17 days and nights, completely annihilating the enemy's 199th Brigade and capturing the commander Wang Shiqiao. In order to win the final victory in the Southwest Shandong Campaign, Liu and Deng's army, after annihilating more than 50000 enemy troops from 9 and a half brigades, marched straight out of the Dabie Mountains, marking the beginning of the People's Liberation Army's strategic offensive and paving the way. The 17th Brigade is known as an iron wall on the north bank of the Wanfu River.

The prolonged sound of gunfire disturbed the dream of a 5-year-old child in Huaxi Village by the Wanfu River. This child, later named Wang Jie, naturally couldn't understand the significant significance of Mao Zedong's commendation of the Southwest Shandong Campaign on July 29, 1947, in the name of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. However, as he grew older, he knew that more than 8500 officers and soldiers had heroically sacrificed their lives in the Battle of Yangshan, which he surrounded and supported at his doorstep, while only 510 left their names behind.

The People's Liberation Army breaks through the gate of Yangshanzhai

After the smoke of the Southwest Shandong Campaign dispersed for 10 years, in 1957, the Yangshan Martyrs Cemetery in Jinxiang was unified to bury the scattered remains of sacrificial martyrs. When 15-year-old Wang Jie participated in the relocation with the school, a martyr's spirit bone with a bullet in its head was pulled out from a tomb. The buried tiles were painted with the martyr's name Liu Sidai - Liu Sidai was from Yanggu, Shandong. He worked as a correspondent in the army and died at the age of 16 after being shot in the head during the battle. Wang Jie admires this little brother who was only one year older than him at the time of his sacrifice, and goes to sweep his grave every Qingming Festival.

Photo by Zhu Ruiqian of the Tomb of Martyr Liu Sidai

A young man's mind should be in the clouds. In 1961, Wang Jie, who had long held military aspirations, resolutely joined the army when he was admitted to Jinxiang No.1 High School. He came to the Tank Second Division of the Jinan Military Region stationed in Xuzhou and participated in new recruits training. After that, he was assigned to work as a soldier in the division's engineering battalion.

The barracks of the Tank Second Division are located on the former site of the 1st Tank Regiment, which was built with American aid equipment by the Nationalist Army. There are still remnants of the office of Chiang Kai shek's second son, Chiang Wei kuo, when he was the commander of this regiment. In 1948, during the second phase of the Huaihai Campaign, Chiang Kai shek personally dispatched Jiang Weiguo, who served as the Chief of Staff for Armored Soldiers, to lead his tank regiment to the front line to cooperate with Li Yannian and Liu Ruming's troops in rescuing Huang Wei's troops, encouraging him to repeat the miracle of winning with fewer troops in the Battle of Feishui. On December 16th, the entire Huang Wei Corps was annihilated. The news came that the Li and Liu troops, who had only advanced a few dozen miles in 12 days and paid the price of over 13000 casualties, as well as the tank regiment led by Jiang Weiguo, withdrew overnight to the south of the Huai River.

Standing on the battlefield of Huaihai, where history has been rewritten, immersed in the glorious history of the army, Wang Jie seems to be walking through a tunnel of time. Wang Jie's unit is a heroic collective that cultivates the God of War, known as the Sixth Squadron of the Second Company of a Tank Battalion. During the Korean War, Tank No. 215 of the class fell into a pit during the operation. Captain Yang Aru commanded the crew to hide on the spot and decisively launched an attack, destroying three American tanks. With the cooperation of engineers, they escaped danger and destroyed two American tanks, three guns, and 20 bunkers, creating the highest number of enemy tanks destroyed by our single vehicle. In daily conversations with his closest hero predecessors, shining hero models such as Lei Feng, Huang Jiguang, Dong Cunrui, Fang Zhimin, Liu Hulan, Zhang Side, Qiu Shaoyun, An Yemin, etc. have become high-frequency words that repeatedly appear in Wang Jie's diary. The silhouette of these models has been pasted on the title page of his diary. Wang Jie's heroic dream is as hot as fire, yet it is integrated into daily life. In the four years since enlisting, whether it was to fight floods and rescue in Tianjin or to carry out national defense construction tasks in the Yimeng Mountains, he has bravely shouldered heavy responsibilities and charged ahead. Among his comrades who enlisted at the same time, he was the first to join the Communist Youth League and was promoted to the rank of Private. Within two years of enlistment, he passed the entrance examination for the five major technical skills in the engineering profession and was awarded the title of "Excellent Warrior" for three consecutive years. He was also awarded the third class merit twice and was recognized by the military as an active member of the Communist Youth League, a "Model Youth League Member", and a first-class technical expert.

Wang Jie

One is not afraid of hardship, and the other is not afraid of death

In the summer of 1965, Wang Jie accompanied the Industrial and Commercial Corps to set up camp in Pi County at the border of Jiangsu and Shandong, and used the Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal for armed swimming training.

Pi County is the old battlefield of the Huaihai Campaign. 17 years ago, the unprecedented bloody battle to besiege and annihilate Huang Baitao's army was launched in Nianzhuang, Pi County. As time passed, the heroes on the Huaihai battlefield, shining like stars, became even brighter in the sky of the Republic, shining with dazzling light.

On November 19, 1948, the East China Field Army launched a total attack on Nianzhuang. The 75th Regiment of the 25th Division of the Ninth Column was ordered to clear the Caomenlou position on the southern enemy's outskirts of Nianzhuang. Several times, a large bunker of the 25th Army was blasted, but all attempts were unsuccessful. The commander was in a state of anxiety, and Zhao Wanshu, who volunteered to join the People's Liberation Army after being captured in the Battle of Jinan, was granted approval to fight. Zhao Wanshu changed into a Nationalist military uniform and crawled forward holding a bomb. The defending enemy thought he was their own wounded soldier, so they let him move forward. Zhao Wanshu climbed up to the front of the large bunker and placed his explosive bag. The enemy found out that he had been deceived and opened fire on him, but it was already too late. With a loud bang, Zhao Wanshu and the bunker disappeared together. After Zhao Wanshu's heroic sacrifice, based on his lifelong wishes and heroic behavior on the battlefield, the troops posthumously recognized him as a member of the Communist Party of China.

This touching story has been widely circulated in the local area.

On a summer night in the battlefield, Wang Jie looked up at the brilliant starry sky, his heart racing. From Yangshan to Huaihai, many heroes have bravely sacrificed themselves for their ideals and victory. At that time, Wang Jie was also actively striving to join the party and had submitted 14 applications to the company's party branch.

The stationed militia has always maintained a fine tradition of valuing martial arts. The engineering battalion came to the county for training, and the People's Armed Forces Department of Pi County came forward to coordinate and requested that the engineering battalion send instructors to train the Zhanglou Commune militia landmine squad. First level technical expert Wang Jie naturally becomes a training instructor.

After the theoretical lecture, on the morning of July 14th, there was a live blasting training for explosives to replace landmines. Early in the morning, Wang Jie arrived at the blasting site and conducted two actual blasting tests by the Grand Canal, both of which went smoothly. Unexpectedly, during the actual explosion operation demonstration, the explosive pack ignition device accidentally ignited, and within a range of half to two meters from the explosive pack, 12 militiamen and full-time armed cadres were densely surrounded on site. At the critical moment, Wang Jie, who was squatting and kneeling, suddenly jumped up and rushed towards the explosion site

That is the final decision of life and death. Quickly lie back and avoid the maximum 45 degree kill angle formed by the explosion to turn danger into safety. The militiamen and specialized military officials present are bound to suffer heavy casualties from the explosion. Wang Jie had no way out, no second choice, he rushed forward like a hero in his heart, facing the Grim Reaper

In the Huaihai battlefield, where countless heroes were forged, a 23-year-old young soldier, with his astonishing feat of shaking the heavens and earth and crying for ghosts and gods, drew a brilliant end to his life.

November 9, 1965 Japanese newspaper's comic strip about Wang Jie

The 12 militiamen and professional cadres at the explosion site were all safe except Luo Hanrui, a militiaman, whose leg was broken and several people were slightly injured. The rescued person and their family strongly demand that Teacher Wang sacrificed himself to save others and should be given great credit.

After Wang Jie's heroic sacrifice, the teacher leader who came to investigate and handle the aftermath couldn't help but feel heartbroken when he saw the resounding oath "one is not afraid of hardship, two is not afraid of death" in the diary he left behind. The investigation team of the Economic Southern Military Region conducted a meticulous investigation, and engineering and technical experts reviewed and verified Wang Jie's heroic behavior. And Wang Jie's three diaries of over 100000 words have become a window to showcase the inner world of a great communist warrior.

In September 1965, Wang Jie was pursued as a member of the Communist Party of China. In November, there was a nationwide craze for learning and promoting Wang Jie. The Ministry of National Defense named Wang Jie's class as "Wang Jie's Class", and Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Dong Biwu, and Chen Yun wrote inscriptions for Wang Jie. Wang Jie's diary has spread like wildfire, becoming a vivid textbook showcasing the growth and development of heroes.

Wang Jie's company before his death - a certain engineering camp in the Nanjing Military Region exploded with Xinhua Social Security Bureau

The magnificent spiritual pedigree of the CPC has since had the distinctive spirit of Wang Jie.

Eight years after Wang Jie's sacrifice, Li Yanqing, the militia he had rescued, encountered a "mute thunder" during the actual explosive training organized by the militia. The Lei female militia attempted to step forward and eliminate the situation, but was stopped by Li Yanqing. He personally took care of the situation, but unexpectedly, the explosion of explosives caused him to lose his sight in both eyes. Li Yanqing practiced the spirit of Wang Jie as a hero and became a living Wang Jie in the Jianghuai region.

A nail in the same box

58 years ago, the earth shattering explosion of Zhanglou in Pi County spread far and wide. In Arong Banner, Inner Mongolia, Wang Jie's fianc é e Zhao Yingling later recalled that before and after that, she once went to the haystack in front of the door to pull grass and cook, and a whirlwind blew from her head. At that time, the girl still had some faith in the auspiciousness of the celestial phenomena. Her heart sank and she rushed home with a draft.

"Don't run away, let others see. They think something's wrong with our family!"

The speaker is Wang Jie's father, Wang Rutang. In 1958, due to financial difficulties, Wang Rutang and his wife brought their chicks from Jinxiang to Arong Banner and settled in Najitun Farm. In Wang Jie's hometown, there is a custom of "never extinguishing the long branch". Wang Jie's uncle, Wang Liantang, who was a teacher, was the eldest son and had no children under his knee. When Wang Rutang and his family moved north, he adopted Wang Jie as his son to Wang Liantang until he joined the army in 1961. Previously, in 1957, while dredging the Wanfu River in his hometown, Wang Rutang cooked for the migrant workers and went to Zhao Yingling's house to grind noodles. When he saw the young girl who was clever, capable, and from a good family background, he entrusted someone to come and propose marriage. Two young people met and developed a mutual affection, so the two families decided to marry according to the old customs. Before Wang Jie's sacrifice, his mother Zhang Suying, who was suffering from heart disease, wrote a letter to Zhao Yingling, saying that she missed her very much and asked her to stay in Arong Banner for a while. The two of them were very talkative. Wang Jie returned to Arongqi to visit his family in May 1965, and thus had his final reunion with Zhao Yingling.

Zhao Yingling gave Wang Jie a purse and the silk thread inside

On June 1st, when Wang Jie and Zhao Yingling went out to the entrance of the photo studio, Wang Jie suggested taking a photo inside. Zhao Yingling thought that in March 1963, she went to Xuzhou to visit Wang Jie. The two had already taken photos at a photo studio. Wang Jie had many siblings and his family was not well-off, so she said, "Let's save money and buy study supplies for them!" Wang Jie hesitated for a moment, looked at the photo studio, and said, "Let's talk about it later!"

More than half a month later, Zhao Yingling felt that the atmosphere at home was not right. Wang Jie's parents suddenly became silent, and there seemed to be a great sadness hidden between the eyebrows of the two elderly people. A few days later, she learned from the female cadres that Wang Jie had sacrificed herself, and felt a sudden change in the world, making it difficult for her to control herself. However, she was even more worried about her father-in-law who had lost her son. Originally, when Wang Jie's troops came to offer condolences, the old man was afraid that she would find it difficult to bear the blow and silently swallowed the pain of losing her son. Zhao Yingling remembered that when she was running home holding grass, the old man's reminder turned into a prophecy, and tears instantly flowed into a river. In the 1980s, after the deaths of two elderly people, the tombstones were facing towards their son's army in Xuzhou and towards their hometown of Jinxiang.

History is constantly opening new pages in the process of change. In the years when China underwent earth shattering changes amidst the soaring dragon and tiger, Wang Jie always shone like a dazzling Venus on the sky of the Republic.

On the day of leaving Wang Jie, Zhao Yingling, who loved singing, composed and recited dozens of small tunes to express her longing for Wang Jie. What made her regret deeply was the missed opportunity to take a second photo with Wang Jie.

In 2022, Wang Yuan, the director of Shandong Television News Recording Center, and several officers and soldiers from Wang Jie's army filmed "Searching for Wang Jie" together. Before going from Jinan to Zhuanghe in Dalian where Zhao Yingling and her adopted daughter are located, Wang Yuan pondered what gift to bring to Grandma Zhao? She thought that over the years, Lin Yuhui, the "Detective with Magic Brush" of the Provincial Public Security Department, had painted portraits of many veterans of the Anti Japanese War and the Korean War, so she asked him to paint an 80 year old portrait of Wang Jie. Lin Yuhui drew a sketch portrait of Wang Jie, who had entered his old age, based on his military uniform photos during his lifetime. The birth of the portrait of Wang Jie at the age of 80 allowed his fianc é e Zhao Yingling to cross time and space and reunite with the hero once again.

The documentary film "Searching for Wang Jie" filmed by Shandong Television Station

On August 15th, the filming team arrived in Zhuanghe City, Dalian and handed over the special gift of Wang Jie's portrait to 80 year old Zhao Yingling. Finally reunited! From youth to old age, Zhao Yingling, who could never forget Wang Jie, shed tears when she saw "Wang Jie" growing old with her. She held the statue of Wang Jie to her left according to the position she had taken with him in Xuzhou, and asked the filming team to leave a precious group photo for her.

Zhao Yingling and Wang Jie's 80 year old simulated photo taken by Bai Junfeng

Before the filming team left, Zhao Yingling dug out an object wrapped in a white handkerchief from the drawer of her bedroom wardrobe, which contained a colorful purse. This is a keepsake made by Wang Jie when she joined the military in 1961 and rushed to her relatives who were tailors to sew together various colored cloth heads. Wang Jie always carried this bag with him and left it at home before sacrificing himself to visit relatives in Arong Banner. The bag contains a strand of grass green silk thread that Wang Jie put in, which is brand new to this day. Zhao Yingling handed the wallet to Bai Junfeng, the staff member of Wang Jie's army, and said, "I originally planned to bring it to the army when Wang Jie sacrificed for 60 years. I am 80 years old this year, and I don't know if it will be possible to travel by then. Please take it back to Xuzhou!"

The picture shows the first group photo of Wang Jie and Zhao Yingling in 1963. Provided by the Memorial Hall of Wang Jie's former military unit