In June 1937, Xu Xiangqian, then deputy commander of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, was appointed by the Party Central Committee and received an important task: to negotiate with Yan Xishan.
Xu Xiangqian
took this opportunity to go home and have a visit, because he has not had contact with his family for 13 years since he joined the revolution in 1924, and he does not know how his parents are doing.
How much he missed and cared about his parents, but he didn't dare to contact them at all, because as long as he contacted his family, the Kuomintang would cause trouble. Over the years, he has even asked people to spread news in his hometown many times that he had sacrificed his life. In fact, it was to protect the safety of his family.
This time, he was very close to home. Before he rushed to Shanxi, the central government specifically talked to him and asked him to go home and have a look. After all, this time he came back to negotiate with Yan Xishan, and the Kuomintang and the Communist Party were currently cooperating, and the situation of the entire nation's war of resistance was relatively good. Xu Xiangqian decided to go home to visit his parents.
Xu Xiangqian returned home quickly. My hometown has not changed much, it can even be said that there is no change. As soon as he entered the village, he saw an old man with a stooped body and white hair.
He stepped forward to say hello gently, and the old man looked back with the same look. But at this moment, he suddenly discovered that the old man turned out to be his father. Although he has been away from home for 13 years, he clearly remembers his father's appearance, even though he is old now. Xu Xiangqian had mixed feelings and was speechless for a moment.
The old man did not recognize Xu Xiangqian. When he saw someone in military uniform beside him, he became nervous and asked directly: "Boss, who are you looking for?"
Xu Xiangqian could no longer suppress his emotions and knelt down directly. He said to the old man: "Dad, I am Xiang Qian (Xu Xiangqian's original name)!"
The old man was stunned after hearing this, dropped the crutch in his hand, directly held Xu Xiangqian's face with both hands, and said to him: " Let me see, are you really Xiangqian?" After the old man finished speaking, he looked at it carefully.
Gradually, his body began to tremble. Suddenly, he took out his hand and hit Xu Qianqian hard on the shoulder. Tears flowed down and he couldn't say a word.
The two of them calmed down for a long time before their emotions stabilized. The old man helped Xu Xiangqian up, and asked while helping him: "Didn't there be news from the front that you died on the front line? Is it false news?"
Xu Xiangqian nodded and said to his father: "I'm afraid that the Kuomintang will cause trouble at home. The news was spread only as a last resort." After hearing this, his father shook his head helplessly and took Xu Xiang back home.
Xu Xiangqian met his father, but before seeing his mother, he eagerly asked how his mother was doing now.
His father let out a long sigh, pointed to the east end of the village, and said to Xu Xiangqian, "She passed away a long time ago, there. She left two years ago." When Xu Xiangqian heard this, he suddenly felt mixed emotions and extremely sad. I couldn't stop crying. I didn't expect that 13 years after I left home during the revolution, I would say goodbye to my old mother forever.
He immediately wanted to go see his mother, but his father stopped him and said to him: "My son, you did not fulfill your filial piety during your lifetime. Buy some incense in two days and go to the grave to cry. Your mother can hear you." Xu Xiangqian With tears in her eyes, she followed her father's advice and followed her home.
Xu Xiangqian returned to his hometown and shocked people all over the country. Everyone also knows that he did not die, but became a high official of the Eighth Route Army. Therefore, everyone came to his house to see him.
On this day, Xu Xiangqian was busy greeting his fellow villagers. It was very late, and when everyone had left, he had the opportunity to have a family affair with his father.
Only then did Xu Xiangqian know that precisely because he participated in the revolution, the Kuomintang came to make trouble every day, demanding that his family reveal his whereabouts. However, the family really didn't know where he was, and even if they knew, they wouldn't tell them. The Kuomintang said they were dishonest and used tricks to find trouble. In the end, they even went so far as to rob them of their things. My mother was angered to death by the Kuomintang. Later, several acres of thin farmland from his family were also taken away, and they had to live in hiding. After Xu Xiangqian heard this, he was so sad that he didn't sleep all night.
Xu Xiangqian left after only a few days at home. He didn't expect that this departure would be a farewell to his father forever.
Soon after he left, the Japanese entered the village. They quickly found out that this was Xu Xiangqian's home, and prepared to arrest his family members, and then interrogate Xu Xiangqian's whereabouts to disturb Xu Xiangqian's military morale. The family members knew the news in advance and hid and fled, but the Japanese escaped.
However, Xu Xiangqian's father was old and could no longer live such a homeless life. He hid in a temple and relied on the help of the monks in the temple. Not long after, he passed away due to illness.
Therefore, Xu Xiangqian’s return to his hometown was not only a reunion with his father after 13 years, but also their farewell. And this news was not known until 1944, when Xu Xiangqian took people home again, and this became a lifelong regret for him.
