In the 1950s, Chairman Mao took the lead in signing the "Cremation Proposal", requiring all central government leaders to be cremated after death, retaining ashes but not remains, and not building tombs.

In the 1950s, Chairman Mao took the lead in signing the "Cremation Initiative", requiring all leading comrades of the central government to be cremated after death, retaining ashes but not remains, and not building tombs. The "Proposal" reads:

"Any state agency staff who agree with the cremation method, please sign on the back. Anyone who signs means that cremation must be carried out after his or her death, and the deceased who is later must ensure that the deceased who precedes him is cremated. "Volunteer."

At that time, celebrities from all walks of life, including central leaders, responded to Chairman Mao's call. Premier Zhou, Marshal Zhu De, etc. all signed their names on the initiative. However, there was only one exception, and he was General Xu Shiyou. Although Chairman Mao had some objections to this, he still agreed to his request.

In 1979, Xu Shiyou left a letter to his son, in which he explained his posthumous affairs:

"Send five hundred yuan in cash and use the money to buy me a coffin. I will not be cremated after my death, but will be buried in my hometown." Go, bury yourself next to your parents, serve your country loyally while you are alive, and honor your parents when you die. I am 74 years old and in good health. I only have more than ten years to live until I am 80 or 90 years old. You can make preparations first."

From the 1950s to 1979, in the past 30 years, General Xu Shiyou's desire to ask Mr. Xiang to be buried was always consistent. He never did anything special in his life, but he made an unsympathetic request to the central government in matters after his death. When people learned the secret behind the incident, they couldn't help but shed tears.

In 1906, Xu Shiyou was born in a poor rural family in Xujiawa, Macheng County, Hubei Province. Due to the poverty of life, he worked as a handyman for a martial arts master since he was a child. When he was 8 years old, he entered the Songshan Shaolin Temple to learn martial arts for 8 years. During this period, he He learned how to fly over walls and climb over walls, and learn all kinds of martial arts. After returning home, because he couldn't stand the exploitative behavior of the landlords, he accidentally beat the bad boy to death. He was forced to leave home and joined Wu Peifu's army as a soldier. From then on, he truly entered the army and started his career. He embarked on a revolutionary journey of his own military life.

In 1927, when the revolution was at its lowest ebb, Xu Shiyou joined the Communist Party of China and participated in the Jute Uprising. In 1932, during the anti-"encirclement and suppression" campaign with the Kuomintang army, Xu Shiyou was even more brave. He joined the death squads seven times and broke through the enemy. Later, the main force of the Fourth Red Army moved to the Sichuan-Shaanxi border area. Before the troops departed, Xu Shiyou risked his life and carefully avoided the enemy's blockade. He returned home late at night and said goodbye to his old mother. When they met, he Then he knelt on the ground with a thud.

After bidding farewell to his old mother, Xu Shiyou devoted himself to the country, performed bravely on the battlefield, and participated in many important battles.

After the outbreak of the National Anti-Japanese War, Xu Shiyou took the initiative to enlist in battle to kill the enemy, repeatedly thwarting the "mopping up" operations of the Japanese and puppet troops, reversing Jiaodong's passive anti-Japanese stance, and consolidating and developing the Jiaodong Anti-Japanese Base. Chairman Mao once criticized him in Jiaodong 's achievements were greatly appreciated: "Xu Shiyou was a general who defeated half the sky in Jiaodong. It's amazing, amazing!"

In 1947, Xu Shiyou served as the commander of the 9th Column of the East China Field Army, participated in the War of Liberation, and fought against the Kuomintang army. Fierce confrontations, and it was during this period that a battle in Jinan really made Xu Shiyou famous.

In September 1948, Xu Shiyou was ordered to serve as the commander-in-chief of the siege troops in the Jinan Campaign. According to Chairman Mao's original idea, it would take at least 20 days to capture Jinan City. After understanding this, he issued the "nihilistic tactic" of concentrating the main force to penetrate directly into the heart of the enemy, and commanded the East and West groups to launch an offensive at the same time. In order not to leave the enemy with a chance to breathe and restore its strength, Xu Shiyou encouraged the soldiers to display their skills without fear of sacrifice. The fighting spirit of not being afraid of hardship and continuous fighting kept approaching the enemy. As a result, under the command of Xu Shiyou, the battle of Jinan was won in just 8 days, at least 12 days earlier than originally planned. So far, the battle , the People's Liberation Army kicked off the shift to launch a critical battle in central cities, officially entering a new stage of strategic decisive battle. Since 1949, Xu Shiyou has been appointed as the commander of the Shandong Military Region, and the national war situation has been basically stable.

It has been 17 years since he last left home. Now, peace is within reach and he has a relatively stable place to live. Therefore, Xu Shiyou immediately arranged for someone to pick up his old mother from his hometown. When the white-haired mother arrived at Xu Shiyou's residence in Jinan, the commander of the Shandong Military Region knelt in front of his mother again and expressed his guilt for not being able to stay with his mother all these years. He hoped that his mother would agree to stay in Jinan together so that he could fulfill his filial piety. However, his mother only stayed for a few days. After seeing that her son, who she thought about day and night, was in good health, she felt relieved and decided to return to her hometown no matter what. go. In fact, Xu Shiyou understood that the mother was worried that she would delay her son's work. In addition, she had been living in the countryside and was not used to the leisurely life in Jinan city. In this way, mother and son were separated again.

After the founding of New China, Xu Shiyou continued to devote himself to the busy work of building the country, and almost never had time to go home to visit his elderly mother. In 1957, due to work needs, Xu Shiyou went to inspect Dabie Mountain in , which was very close to home. Therefore, Xu Shiyou asked for leave from the organization and set out on his way home to visit his mother.

After returning home, Xu Shiyou found that the door to his home was closed and there was no movement inside. Based on his previous understanding of his mother's living habits, Xu Shiyou followed the impression of the dirt road to the farmland to look for his mother. Sure enough, from a long distance away, Xu Shiyou saw his stooped mother carrying a large bundle of firewood and walking slowly and slowly. He immediately ran forward to pick the firewood, and then knelt on the ground to kowtow to his mother. The mother and son, who had not seen each other for many years, held each other's arms and cried, telling each other how much they missed each other.

Although Xu Shiyou had been awarded the rank of general at this time and was a world-famous fierce general, he was still a child in his mother's arms.

After a brief meeting, Xu Shiyou set off in a hurry and started his busy work again. He could not be filial to his mother, so Xu Shiyou asked his son Xu Guang to take care of his old mother on his behalf. So Xu Guang returned to his hometown and took on the task of taking care of his grandma. Half a year later, his grandmother passed away, and Xu Guang fulfilled his father's instructions as a filial piety.

Xu Shiyou went home for the funeral. Looking at the grave where his mother was buried, he knelt in front of the grave, wiped his tears, and promised: He failed to fulfill his filial piety during his lifetime, and after his death, he will definitely guard his mother's grave.

From the deep relationship between General Xu Shiyou and his old mother, we can get a glimpse of the reason why he insisted on being buried.

In 1985, just after New Year's Day, Xu Shiyou, who had a premonition that his body could not support him for long, asked his secretary to write a report to the Party Central Committee. After death, coffin burial is carried out.

Since he left home to join the revolution when he was young, he almost never fulfilled his filial piety by his mother's side. He hoped that he could be buried next to his mother after his death to fulfill his filial piety.

This year, 80-year-old General Xu Shiyou suffered from a serious illness, but he still worked actively and contributed to the country's modernization of the army after his health improved. At the end of September, his condition suddenly worsened, and he was sometimes comatose and sometimes awake. Once, after he woke up, he found his relatives and old comrades standing beside him. At this time, he was truly sure that he did not have much time left for him.

In the following time, Xu Shiyou has been waiting for the central government's approval. As long as he is awake, he will repeatedly ask people around him whether there is a reply from the central government and whether his request for burial has been approved.

On October 22, 1985, General Xu Shiyou died of illness in Nanjing, but how to deal with his aftermath became a difficult matter. Whether it should be buried or cremated, Nanjing Military Region has been difficult to make a conclusion.

General Xu Shiyou never used his power to do anything special in his life. When he was dying, the only thing he couldn't let go of was the burial application that had not been approved by the central government. The Nanjing Military Region was well aware of General Xu Shiyou's regrets and was deeply moved by their mother and son. Therefore, the Nanjing Military Region once again sent a request to the central government for instructions on funeral arrangements, and proposed that General Xu Shiyou's body be transported back to his hometown for burial.

After the report was handed over to the Central Committee, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Central Military Commission attached great importance to it. However, after the founding of New China, the country vigorously promoted burial, and there was almost no precedent for burial. Therefore, after circulating the report of General Xu Shiyou, the Central Committee also delayed A conclusion was drawn, and finally the report was sent to Deng Xiaoping's desk.

Deng Xiaoping and Xu Shiyou were close comrades-in-arms. He understood Xu Shiyou's regrets and sympathized with them. So, after careful consideration, Deng Xiaoping finally made the decision and instructed in the report, "Do it as it is and never do it next time." These eight words also served as a guide for dealing with Xu Shiyou. What happened after the general's death set the tone.

On October 26, Wang Zhen, then deputy director of the Central Advisory Committee, arrived at the Nanjing Military Region and solemnly conveyed Comrade Deng Xiaoping's opinions, saying:

"Xu Shiyou made great achievements in military affairs during his sixty-year military career. He is a special person with special character, special experience and special contributions. This is a special pass signed by Comrade Deng Xiaoping. "

For a long time, central leading cadres were cremated and everything was kept simple after their death. The entire society has gradually begun to accept cremation. As a cadre of the Communist Party, it is natural to set an example and practice cremation. At this time, when approving the burial of General Xu Shiyou, the social impact should be taken into consideration. Therefore, Comrade Deng Xiaoping also put forward the "six no-nos" requirement:

"No memorial service is allowed, no publicity is allowed in newspapers, family members and children are not allowed to tell stories, no monuments are allowed to be erected, and funerals are not allowed to be spread..."

So, General Xu Shiyou's coffin arrived at his hometown secretly late at night, without anyone to greet him, and everything was Proceeding quietly in the dark night. In this way, a legendary general left the New China that he loved and fought for all his life.

You cannot doubt the style of General Xu Shiyou just because he was buried. When the Chinese people learned the truth behind the burial, they couldn't help but shed tears. He was dedicated to serving the country during his lifetime and could not be filial to his mother. Only after death can he guard his mother's grave. It was Xu Shiyou The deep affection in the general's bones resonated with the people of the country. His great achievements were engraved in the history books of New China, and he himself will always live in the hearts of the people.