Preface
One day in 1955, Marshal He Long inspected the Fourth Naval School in Qingdao. He was accompanied by school leaders, Soviet instructors, and military advisers, which was enough to show the importance he attached to He Long.
He Long was very happy, especially when he saw that New China's navy had developed by leaps and bounds, and he couldn't stop smiling at all.
At noon, a group of people gathered around He Long to eat. As soon as he entered the cafeteria, the smile on He Long's face disappeared. The cafeteria was empty, with only the people accompanying him sitting in their seats and waiting for He Long to take his seat.
He Long felt a little uncomfortable. He turned his head and looked out the window, and immediately became angry. The students were squatting on the ground in a circle to eat.
It turned out that in order to welcome He Long's arrival, the school emptied the dining hall. Speaking of , this was the idea of the Soviet adviser, because in the Soviet Union, marshals and soldiers could not eat together.
He Long didn't care about that. He picked up the bowl and walked straight outside the restaurant, came among the students, and squatted down to eat with them.
The school leaders and Soviet advisers who stayed in the restaurant were not standing, sitting, eating, or not eating.
At this time, someone quietly came to He Long and persuaded him to go back to the restaurant for dinner. He Long said firmly,
"I won't go back! I just can't stand their behavior. Learning is mutual, we learn from them and we learn from them." , please learn from them. Today, I will show them the glorious tradition of our army! "
"share the suffering" with the soldiers
He Long once said, "To use soldiers, you must know how to love soldiers." Therefore, he Our troops have always been the most "unanimous".
In 1928, He Long took off his leather shoes and put on straw sandals, returned to his hometown in Hunan, raised the uprising flag and formed a team of more than 3,000 people.
In that era, those who dared to participate in the revolution were basically heroes who were not afraid of death. For example, He Long's team entered the mountains and forests in September of the same year, but only 91 people were left.
What is even more difficult is that the rear area has been completely controlled by the enemy, and the personnel cannot be replenished. The soldiers have not had enough to eat, and even the most basic survival is a problem.
And, no salt in the army. As we all know, salt is an essential substance for the human body. If you do not eat salt for a long time, your nerve response will slow down, your heart function will also weaken, and you may even suffer from shock or even death.
Once, the cook managed to get a fingertip-sized amount of salt. It was winter at that time, and He Long, like the soldiers, was wearing tattered straw sandals and single clothes, shivering from the cold. How happy he would be if he could eat some salt.
Thinking of this, the cook specially fried a plate of chili peppers for He Long and put all the salt in it. After the was ready, he brought the plate to He Long. He Long noticed something was wrong after just one taste.
Maybe it’s because I haven’t eaten salt for a long time. Even if I only add a little bit, the taste will be particularly obvious. He Long didn't even need to take a second bite before he concluded that salt was added to the chili pepper.
He called the cook over and asked him to pour the chili pepper into the big pot of rice for everyone to eat together. The cook was reluctant. He was worried about He Long's health and hoped that he would be healthy.
He Long smiled and accepted his kindness, but insisted not to enjoy the plate of chili exclusively, "We officers and soldiers are the same, we have salt to share."
The same difficulty was during the Long March period. At that time, Zhu De wanted to help The Second Red Front Army directly ordered the troops directly under the Red Fourth Front Army to leave yaks and other materials to the Red Second Front Army. He also specifically asked, "Don't throw away yak skins, intestines and the like. These things will go to the back." They are all edible."
However, the food collected by the Red Second Front Army was only enough for seven or eight days, and according to other Front Army introductions, it would take at least twenty days to get out of the grassland.
He Long did everything he could think of, but unexpectedly, the army still encountered an unsolvable crisis.
The places where food can be raised in the camp have been taken away by the front troops, and most of the wounded left behind by the front troops have been taken over by the Second Red Army. There are more and more people, but less and less food.
In this regard, He Long issued a special order, " No matter what difficulties we encounter, we must not abandon the wounded. As long as the living people have a breath, they must take the wounded with them!"
In order to keep all the soldiers alive, He Long thought of a way. He organized a tasting group to try various weeds and select those that were not easily poisoned.
At that time, his beard was almost as long as a weed, and his entire face was buried in the thick beard, making it difficult to see his expression clearly. Only through his furrowed brows could one tell that he was in a bad mood.
He has always regarded soldiers as his own children. Now in such a situation, He Long felt powerless.
Once, he saw a fallen soldier on the roadside. Without saying a word, He Long helped the soldier onto his horse and told the guards, "Find a way to send him to a military hospital and don't allow him to die on the way." Drop it, ask the military hospital to give me a receipt and bring it back. "
The soldiers can see He Long's words and deeds. He Long is worried about the life and death of every soldier, and the soldiers don't want to implicate He Long and the team. Therefore, many When a soldier cannot hold on any longer, he will cover his face with grass to pretend that he has been sacrificed and will not bother the team to continue treatment.
Soon, He Long learned of this situation, and he issued an order again: the containment team must pull the grass off everyone's face, and they must be taken away as long as they are still breathing.
However, the food problem was not solved. After careful consideration, He Long decided to kill his favorite horse.
The guard cried after hearing the news. He Long was also very sad, but he still cheered up, "People are close to horses, and horses are close to people. We love horses, and horses love us. However, soldiers and horses cannot "Have both."
Officers and soldiers agreed
In 1943, an 18-year-old soldier named Bian Xinzhong became a guard for He Long.
At that time, He Long was the joint defense commander of the five provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Shanxi and Suizhou. According to Bian Xinzhong's recollection, He Long always ate the same as the soldiers. If there was whole grains, he would eat whole grains, and if there was no whole grains, he would dig wild vegetables.
He saw that He Long was often busy directing battles until late at night, and often ran out to scout the enemy's situation late at night. He was worried that He Long would not be able to bear it physically. Therefore, Bian Xinzhong suggested to He Long that he hoped that he could improve his life.
He Long just smiled,
"It's good to have some food. Now is the most difficult period of the Anti-Japanese War. The Kuomintang has long cut off the supplies of the Eighth Route Army. This is nothing to us. Chairman Mao and General Zhu in Yan'an The commander is having a harder time than we are. We must be mentally prepared to live a hard life now. When the Japanese army is defeated and people's lives improve, we will all live a good life."
He Long said it right, from 1941 to 1943. , was the most difficult period for the Eighth Route Army.
finally delivered cotton-padded clothes from Yan'an, but they were discovered by enemy planes. Several bombs not only injured our military transport personnel, but also burned all the supplies.
This incident made He Long so angry that he couldn't sleep for several days. He insisted on wearing thin clothes in the winter like the soldiers. Seeing Xinzhong shivering in the cold, He Long told him about the Long March.
He Long asked Bian Xinzhong to follow him to the Linxian Military Depot for inspection. Before setting off, He Long looked at his torn clothes and feet that were red from the cold, "Xiao Bian, the Anti-Japanese War period was indeed difficult, but you can't live without shoes. "
said, He Long handed him a note, "Go to the supply office to get shoes." Bian Xinzhong trotted to get a pair of shoes and put them on. When he returned to He Long, He Long was already waiting for him.
Bian Xinzhong got on his horse and the two of them set off. When was approaching Linxian , the two of them saw a woman wearing a fox fur coat and smeared with makeup.
He Long found it strange that these were difficult times. The Eighth Route Army and the common people had neither enough food nor clothing to keep warm. Who could this person be wearing such luxurious clothes?
He Long became more and more uncomfortable as he watched. He dismounted and asked the woman, "What's your name?"
The woman said casually, "Shi Lixiang."
"Where do you work? What's your lover's name?"
"I'm at works in a warehouse. My wife's name is Wei Guozhen, and he is the warehouse manager. "
He Long became angry when he heard this, "Bah, I think you are a stinker!"
After saying that, He Long got on his horse and rushed to Linxian. He called immediately. Give it to the county magistrate of Linxian County and ask him to remove Wei Guo from his post,
"Now, the Eighth Route Army and the common people have no enough food to eat and no clothes to cover their bodies. His wife is flamboyant and dressed like a capitalist's wife. It's really shameful." ! Where did the things on his wife come from? It’s not because he has the power to turn public affairs into private interests! The cadres of the Communist Party must take the lead and endure hardships. If anyone uses the power in his hands to harm the interests of the party and the people, we will never Will allow it!"
A similar thing happened in 1952. He Long, then commander of the Southwest Military Region, saw a report from comrades in the army: The political commissar and first deputy minister of a certain department in Beipei, Chongqing, had Xiaoyang covered for himself. Building, it has almost become the " Wall Street " of the United States.
After He Long put down the materials, he made an appointment with Li Da, deputy commander of the Southwest Military Region, Wang Xinting, director of the Political Department, Huang Liqing, director of the Cadre Department, and others to go to Beipei to learn about the situation.
Because it was a temporary decision and He Long kept it secret, Beipei received no notice at all. So, He Long really saw the two small foreign-style buildings, which were equipped with electric lights, telephones, carpets, bathtubs, and flush toilets.
After He Long walked out of the small foreign-style building, he saw several tents on the hill not far away. Just in time, the local person in charge came over after hearing the news, and He Long asked him directly, "What? Are there still people living in tents on Wall Street?"
The person in charge replied, "Report to Commander He, that is where the anti-aircraft artillery company is stationed."
He Long walked straight forward and walked to the hill. He naturally entered a tent and said, "It's so dark inside, how can the soldiers do it?" "Study?" The company commander stood at attention and said, "Commander He, we don't have any wires here." The instructor quickly lit a kerosene lamp.
He Long asked again, "You don't have running water pipes here, how do you get water?"
"We go downstairs to fetch water every day. We changed defenses here and took on the task of protecting the agencies and leaders. The soldiers were in a high mood and were not afraid of hardship. The bandit suppression force It's even harder than us."
He Long nodded and said nothing, but turned around and walked outside the tent. He walked towards the soldiers of the anti-aircraft artillery company and bowed respectfully to everyone , "I, He Long, can't help you. There is bureaucracy here, and you are still allowed to live in leaky tents. I apologize to you all." You apologize."
Then, he pointed to the small western-style building and said angrily, "Now that funds are so tight, our senior cadres are building small western-style buildings for themselves and letting the anti-aircraft guns that protect them connect their tents. This is too unfair. That's true!"
Then, He Long said to the several comrades accompanying him, "When you go back, ask them to move out of the small foreign house and live in this tent, and let the anti-aircraft guns live in the small foreign house."
Unexpectedly, after these two senior officials who lived in the foreign-style building learned about this, they discussed it because they were He Long's old subordinates, "Let's write a review to Mr. He first, and we won't move the house for the time being. We will look at it in a few days." "Look."
He Long became even more angry,
"Build a house, write a review, and still live in it. No one will do this if they don't correct their mistakes. Tell them, it's only them." The house was vacated within a week for the anti-aircraft artillery company to move in, and their review had to be rewritten and downgraded."
Later, these two people got the punishment they deserved.
Educating children
Speaking of which, a commoner marshal like He Long who shared the joys and sorrows with the soldiers was destined to be very strict with his children.
When eating, the children in He Long's family are not allowed to have any leftover rice. Even if it falls on the table, they must pick it up and eat it.
The children became more familiar with He Long. What he told the children most often was, "Be an honest person and work conscientiously, just like ordinary people."
After going to school, He Long set a rule for the children: "You are not allowed to ask for special care from schools or organizations in the name of your father. If such behavior occurs, the whole family will despise it."
When He Long's eldest son, He Pengfei, was in junior high school, he broke his leg while playing football. Going to school was inconvenient, so He Long hired a rickshaw to take He Pengfei, who was wearing a plaster cast, to and from school every day.
In fact, He Long had a special car, but he did not allow his family members to take advantage of it in his name.
Many old comrades said that He Long was a bit unkind. After all, the child was injured, so it was justifiable to use it.
Not only did He Long ignore such voices, but even He Pengfei didn't take it seriously. Growing up, he never had any privileges just because he was the son of a marshal.
In 1963, He Pengfei graduated from high school. He Long originally wanted him to study at and Tsinghua , but He Pengfei's grades were average and he couldn't reach Tsinghua's admission criteria.
At that time, there were relevant regulations that the children of high-ranking cadres could be recommended to university, but He Long did not agree to go through the back door and asked He Pengfei to continue tutoring and get into Tsinghua University based on his own ability.
Just like that, He Peng repeated his studies for one year and was admitted to Tsinghua University in 1964.
In addition to his own children, He Long also adopted 10 orphans of martyrs. In 1954, the state issued a document stipulating that children of martyrs could be raised by the public.
Ke He Long insisted on raising his own children. He said, "Their mothers and fathers all followed me and died in the revolution. Now that I have food to eat, I cannot let them beg for food, let alone reach out to the country."
His adopted son He Xingtong received from the people After graduating from the Chinese Department of the university, he was assigned to the International News Department of Xinhua News Agency. He was very happy, riding his bicycle and whistling all the way back home.
A few hundred meters away from home, He Xingtong met He Long who was walking. Seeing how happy he was, He Long asked, "Xingtong, why are you so happy today?"
"I was assigned to the International News Department of Xinhua News Agency today!"
After hearing this, He Long said "Oh" lukewarmly. After a while, he continued walking.
He Xingtong didn't take He Long's reaction to heart. He was so happy that he felt a little carried away. However, after He Long returned home from his walk, he directly called the graduate allocation team and asked where it was most difficult.
After learning that Gansu was the most difficult, He Long confessed, "I think it would be more appropriate for He Xingtong to go to Gansu. He would whistle for every job he was assigned, as if he was a villain."
In this way, He Xingtong went to work in Gansu and went with him. Yes, and He Long’s biological son He Pengfei.
He Long said, "You cannot put your children in your pocket and take good care of them. You should put them in the most difficult places to polish them so that they can experience real life."
