In 1955, at the first great meritorious service in the New China, Xu Xiangqian was awarded the eighth marshal of the founding country. He was the first and only senior party, government and military general in the northern region to be awarded the rank of marshal.
Chen Yi Marshal Xu Xiangqian, General Peng, Chen Geng, Lin Biao and Su Yu were jointly evaluated by Marshal Xu Xiangqian as the Five Tiger Generals of our army. It can be seen that Marshal Xu Xiangqian's military leadership ability was not only recognized by Marshal Chen Yi, but also his military status can compete with those of the Three Kingdoms in the Guan Yu , Zhao Yun , Zhang Fei and others.
10 Grand Marshal took a photo with a photo
However, it is such a general who has made great achievements in fighting, brave and good at fighting, devoted himself to the party and the people throughout his life. When he made three requests to the party organization before his death in 1990, he received a reply of "not being fully agreed".
So what is going on with all this? Marshal Xu Xiangqian made three more requests.
The most unpromising student
Xu Xiangqian was born on November 8, 1901 in a poor family in Yong'an Village, Wutai County, Shanxi Province. His family is the same as most rural families in that era, with many children and a total of 6 siblings.
Although his family is poor, fortunately Xu Xiangqian's father Xu Maojun was a scholar in the late Qing Dynasty. Therefore, under the influence of his father, he loved studying since childhood and started studying in private schools since childhood. In 1914, his father and his Buddhist mother sold him to a new school in order to broaden his horizons and accept new things. Unfortunately, he was forced to drop out of school after two years of poverty, returned to the village to continue studying in private schools, and dropped out of school a year later and went home.
Martyr Xu Xiangqian
After dropping out of school, Xu Xiangqian started his first job, as an apprentice in a bookstore in Fuping County, Hebei Province. This year, Xu Xiangqian was 16 years old. During his two-year apprenticeship career, he not only saved a little savings, but also used his spare time to read a large number of Chinese classical novels, and had the idea of serving the country and serving the country and the people. Although his apprenticeship career has trained Xu Xiangqian's tenacious qualities, he always had a dream of studying in his heart. At this time, Shanxi warlords Yan Xishan established poor education. Xu Xiangqian once again saw the hope of studying. After a period of hard work, he was successfully admitted to the first crash course of Shanxi National Normal University in 1919.
After receiving formal education, Xu Xiangqian was dispatched to Wutai County as a primary school teacher. Here he decided to use education to save the country, enlighten the people's wisdom, promote civil rights, and cultivate more patriotic talents for the motherland. So he often used the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal and anti-warlord concepts to promote patriotism to his students, and establish correct patriotic values for his students.
However, his teaching philosophy is contrary to the school's feudal traditional teaching ideas, and he was fired by the school many times. Finally, the sad and disappointed Xu Xiangqian decided to abandon his pen and join the army, finding a new way out for the country and himself.
1921, Xu Xiangqian resolutely went south to participate in the vigorous Northern Expedition oath-taking ceremony led by revolutionary pioneer Mr. Sun Yat-sen, and became the first batch of students in Whampoa Military Academy.
During his time at the Whampoa Military Academy, Xu Xiangqian received formal military education and skill and technical training. However, Xu Xiangqian, who was born in poverty, was called the most unreliable student in the Whampoa Military Academy by Principal Jiang because he was low-key, simple in dress, no comparison, and no flattery.
General of the common people, returned home in glory
During his time at the Whampoa Military Academy, Xu Xiangqian participated in the battle to quell the rebellion of the Guangzhou Merchant Regiment and the first Eastern Expedition of . Not only did he accumulate combat experience for his military career, but he also showed extraordinary military talents.
1925, Xu Xiangqian officially bid farewell to the Whampoa Military Academy and joined the 6th Mixed Brigade of the 2nd Army of the National Revolutionary Army stationed in Anyang, Henan. However, in this army, Xu Xiangqian witnessed all kinds of evil deeds such as warlords' corruption, empty salary, corruption of military discipline, and oppression of goodness. This made Xu Xiangqian, who was honest and dedicated to the people, felt very disappointed.
But when Xu Xiangqian came to Wuhan with the Guangzhou National Revolutionary Army, his heart suddenly became clear. Here he had contacted a large number of Communists and read a lot of Marxist books. He was deeply attracted by the thoughts in the book and the Communist Party’s optimistic revolutionary spirit. At this time, he finally understood that only the Communist Party can save China and the people.
1927 Revolution failed, Xu Xiangqian joined the Communist Party under the pressure of white terror and became a glorious Communist Party member.
After experiencing the ups and downs of the Great Revolution, Xu Xiangqian was sent by the Party Central Committee to Northeast Hubei to serve as the deputy commander of the 31st Division of the Red First Army in 1929, officially starting his legendary military career.
Xu Xiangqian encountered the encirclement and suppression of the Kuomintang shortly after he took office. At this time, he, the deputy division commander, had less than 300 people, but he was not afraid of the crisis. He calmly analyzed the situation of the enemy and us, his strengths and weaknesses, and decided to avoid the strong and attack the weak, avoid the real and attack the virtual, fight more small battles, and accumulate small victories into big victory, which made the "Ruo-Li Association Suppression", "Euro-Yu Association Suppression", and "Xu-Xia Association Suppression" one after another, while Red Army grew stronger through repeated encirclement and suppression.
Xu Xiangqian's guerrilla tactics were best proved in actual combat, and he was promoted to Deputy Commander of the Red 1st Army and Commander of the Red 1st Division. After that, he took advantage of the opportunity of Chiang Kai-shek and Feng Yuxiang and Yan Xishan Central Plains battles to lead the Red 1st Division to attack Pinghan Road three times, conquering Yunmeng, Guangshan, Luotian and other counties, and achieved major victories in three battles, three victory and three expansions.
Since then, Xu Xiangqian's reputation has been widely spread among the Red Army and the enemy. The people have also specially compiled folk song : "Fifty days of guerrilla warfare in Han Dynasty, three battles, three victory and three expansions, the Red Army's momentum shook Wuhan, and the flames of revolution are everywhere."
1
1
1931, Xu Xiangqian was elected as a member of the Military Commission for making countless military achievements in the first anti-encirclement and suppression of and the second anti-encirclement and suppression of . He officially served as the commander-in-chief of Red Fourth Front Army after the merged , personally commanded and smashed the third encirclement and suppression of the Kuomintang. At the age of 30, he became the most capable young general in the Red Army, and was deeply loved by Chairman Mao.
In 1932, due to the wrong decision of Wang Ming's left-leaning line on , the Fourth Red Army fell into danger many times in the battle with the Kuomintang. Xu Xiangqian led 14,000 Red Army and was forced to transfer to Sichuan and Shaanxi to establish a revolutionary base.
Soon Chiang Kai-shek assembled more than 60,000 troops to encircle and suppress Xu Xiangqian's Red Fourth Army. Xu Xiangqian adopted the new tactics of tightening positions, luring the enemy into deeper, and fighting step by step, completely shattering Chiang Kai-shek's plan, allowing our Red Fourth Army to gain a foothold in the Sichuan-Shaanxi region and gain strong support from the people.
After the full outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War in 1937, in order to unite the front, Xu Xiangqian was ordered to accompany Premier Zhou back to his hometown in Shanxi to meet Yan Xishan, and promote the unification of the Anti-Japanese Front. It was this opportunity that Xu Xiangqian was able to return to his home that had been away for many years and took a look.
At the entrance of the village, Xu Xiangqian met an old father carrying a sack to the village. He shouted excitedly, "Dad, I am Xu Xiangqian."
After hearing the sound, the old man slowly turned around, looked for a long time before saying with a slight tremolo: "My son, it's been 12 years, you're finally back."
Xu Xiangqian and his family
The two immediately hugged each other and cried for a long time. When Xu Xiangqian asked about his mother, the old father couldn't help crying again, "You came back too late, your mother left three years ago." Xu Xiangqian was stunned for a moment. He never expected that after the farewell, he would never have the chance to call him mother again. He couldn't help but scold himself as an unworthy descendant in his heart.
After returning home, Xu Xiangqian saw his daughter Xu Songzhi in the yard. This is the daughter of him and his ex-wife. The ex-wife died of dystrophy. At this time, the little girl who had never seen her father and had never received father's love hid behind her grandfather in fear, and only dared to secretly look at this man in military uniform.
Xu Xiangqian knew that he owed too much to his daughter, but as a soldier and a qualified Communist, he could only sacrifice his family to protect everyone. Even in the short few days when he returned home, he was not idle. He preached the Communist Party’s policies everywhere in the village, urging everyone to actively participate in the revolutionary cause and shout for freedom and democracy.
Xu Xiangqian's two sisters learned that their younger brother had become a high-ranking official in the army, and they personally sent their children, hoping to surrender to his troops, stay with him, and get his care. However, Xu Xiangqian went against the intentions of the two sisters. Not only did they not leave their two nephews by their side, they also took the initiative to send them to the front line. As a result, the two children died when they first went to the battlefield, which also became Xu Xiangqian's lifelong pain and guilt.
Woatou and Wild Vegetables
Although Xu Xiangqian made great achievements and was a senior general of the Red Army, he was determined to serve the country and the people and never took credit. He even dressed in a simple coarse cloth top. In order to facilitate carrying more military information, he also sewed two more pockets on the top.
He was also called Marshal of Buyi, and Marshal of Buyi's favorites were steamed buns and wild vegetables.
After Xu Xiangqian returned to the army, he soon joined the fierce battle.
In April 1949, Xu Xiangqian led the troops to liberate Taiyuan, ending Yan Xishan's 38-year warlord rule over Shanxi.
Taiyuan liberation soon came back to Xu Xiangqian's hometown Wutai County, so relatives and friends went to Taiyuan one after another to find a job in Xu Xiangqian's army. However, what everyone did not expect was that Xu Xiangqian decisively rejected everyone and said, "The Communist Party of China is not a force that uses power for personal gain, and I am not a corrupt official in the Kuomintang, so everyone should go back."
But at this moment, Xu Xiangqian's two sisters also came to the army, hoping to get the care of this young brother who was a high-ranking official. Xu Xiangqian could all refuse the others tactfully, but he could not let his own sister go directly, especially in his heart. The death of the two nephews has always been an indelible shadow in his heart. He always felt sorry for his two sisters.
So Xu Xiangqian decided to leave two sisters and let them see how the high-ranking official in the army lived. After living for a while, Xu Xiangqian's two sisters returned to Wutai County without any complaints because they found that their younger brother's clothes were not only sewn for many years, but also rejected their idea of sewing two new clothes for them.
Xu Xiangqian told them this: "Our Communist Party does not make specialization. If you want to sew new clothes for me, then sew one for every soldier in the army."
The two sisters had to give up after hearing this. In addition, what surprised them even more was that Xu Xiangqian ate wild vegetables and steamed buns every meal, and even ate less than an ordinary soldier, and he still ate with relish.
As the saying goes, seeing is true. After realizing your brother's life, the two of them took the initiative to go home.
Three requests
After the founding of New China, Xu Xiangqian was successively appointed as the Chief of Staff of the People's Liberation Army of China and Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission. In 1979, he also decided and commanded the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam.
1988, in order to support Deng Xiaoping's policy of rejuvenating cadres, he voluntarily resigned from his posts as Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission and Deputy Prime Minister of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. Two years later, the founding marshal, who had been plagued by illness, finally fell ill in the hospital.
Xu Xiangqian Marshal and his wife Huang Jie
On September 21, 1990, Xu Xiangqian, who had a premonition of his life, took the initiative to call his son and family to his side and instruct, "I have three last wishes, I hope you report them to the central leaders." After hearing this, Xu Xiaoyan nodded with tears.
After Xu Xiangqian took a breath, he seemed to have exhausted his whole life's efforts and said: "1. Don't say goodbye to the body, 2. Don't hold a memorial service, 3. Sprinkle my ashes on Dabie Mountains , Daba Mountains, Hexi Corridor and Taihang Mountains ".
Xu Xiaoyan held his father's hand tightly and said, "I will do what I will do and report it to the central leaders."
After listening to the reply from his only son Xu Xiaoyan, Marshal Xu Xiangqian closed his eyes forever.
The news of Marshal Xu Xiangqian's death soon spread like wildfire. Many central leaders and former old comrades came to the Xu family to express their condolences, sending Old General Xu on his last journey, and looking at Marshal Xu Xiangqian's last glance.
At this time, Xu Xiaoyan conveyed his father's instructions before his death to the central leaders. But what he never expected was that the central leaders rejected his request and said to him: "The three requests can only be agreed to him the last one. Comrade Xu Xiangqian is a great revolutionary, military strategist, and founding marshal. He is a role model for future generations. His spirit and merits are worthy of the forever learning of future generations. We must talk about his spirit being passed on."
So in order to meet Marshal Xu Xiangqian's request before his death, and to let everyone bid farewell to Marshal Xu Xiangqian for the final farewell, on November 1, 1990, a simple "farewell to Marshal Xu" ceremony was held in Babaoshan . Then, accompanied by the central leaders, Xu Xiaoyan and his family scattered Marshal Xu Xiangqian's ashes in the place where he had fought.
At this point, Marshal Xu Xiangqian completed his legendary life.
