In 1963, in Xibeijie Village, Shangbei Town, Xingtang County, Hebei Province, villagers from various brigades were irrigating the land to the forefront. The captain of one of the brigades Gao Ruyi and a family worked together to pump water with a small donkey. After the family had just finished watering and handed over to Gao Ruyi's family, for some reason, the small donkey took off his reins and fell into a large well beside the field. When Gao Ruyi asked someone to catch them together, the donkey had long been drowned. Gao Ruyi had to go to the brigade to report truthfully, and the donkey was later peeled and sold meat by the brigade. Although this incident lost collective property, it was an unintentional move and was later left alone.
60s donkey pumping
villagers re-recorded the old things. Faced with huge compensation, Gao Ruyi thought of the old political commissar of the central government
Time flies, and three years passed quickly. Gao Ruyi, as always, guarded adobe house, earned work points, and lived his own life in an ordinary and hardworking manner. In 1966, during the Cultural Revolution, someone re-mentioned old things, saying that Gao Ruyi killed the donkey and was labeled as "destroying collective property" and needed to pay the village collective several hundred yuan. Gao Ruyi understands the principle that the arm cannot twist the thigh, and says bluntly that there is no money. You can discount with the things at home. The crazy villagers disagreed and said everything. Some people wanted to snatch the house, some people suggested selling Gao Ruyi's bicycle when she got married, and some people directly took away the piglets who were feeding him for several months. Gao was digging Ruyi's house three feet away, and all the valuable things were swept away, leaving only 17 military medals alone on the ground without anyone caring about it.
Shuijing
Looking at the haggard wife and three crying children, the crowd with cold faces came in and out of their homes. Helplessly, Gao Ruyi begged her nephew to write a letter to her old political commissar. Although Gao Ruyi was a farmer, he knew that his Political Commissar Deng had come to the Central Committee and his words would definitely work. In the letter, he told the old political commissar how Xiaolu died, what the brigade said, and why he had no choice but to ask the old political commissar for help.
Gao Ruyi’s photo when she was young
Shortly after the letter was sent out, Gao Ruyi’s wife Li Duoxiao met a village cadre once, and the other party said, “Okay, your family Ruyi sued, the central government wrote a letter, and the Gao family realized that there was an echo in the letter. The commune secretary also came to the door in person, saying, "Ruyizi, you are so stubborn, is it worth writing a letter to the central government?" Soon the county sent people to convey the instructions of the central leader to "handle natural disasters and man-made disasters".
Gao Ruyi overcomes the difficulties, but his identity that he had hidden for many years was exposed.
After Japan was defeated in 1945, Gao Ruyi bid farewell to his newly married wife and became a new recruit from the 16th Army of the Second Field Army of Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping. He followed the troops to fight with the Kuomintang in Hebei, Henan, and Shandong. Later, he advanced to the Dabie Mountains . He joined the Communist Party of China in 1946.
In the Crossing the River Battle on April 12, 1949, the 5th squad of the 7th Company of the 136th Regiment of the 16th Army where Gao Ruyi was located was the vanguard. In the rain of bullets, Gao Ruyi, who was the squad leader at that time, led six comrades to shake a wooden boat named "Haizhou" and rushed to the south bank of the Yangtze River . The ship arrived in the middle of the river, and a shell exploded on the side of the ship. A comrade died on the spot. Two comrades were injured. The shipman was fainted and Gao Ruyi was injured in the left arm. Gao Ruyi and the soldiers took off their helmets as slurry, braved the enemy's artillery fire and crossed the river first, climbed to the south bank of the Yangtze River, and quickly seized the enemy's river defense position to ensure the smooth landing of the main force. Their class was called the "First Clipper", and the whole class won the first-class merit of . Gao Ruyi was also known as the "first person crossing the river" and was awarded the "Special Combat Hero".
Crossing the River Battle
On October 1, 1950, Gao Ruyi attended the National Battle Heroes Congress held in Beijing as one of the representatives of the Second Field Army. Before leaving, Political Commissar Deng Xiaoping told them: "You will attend the heroes' meeting and represent the Second Field Army. Don't be proud of yourself." Before leaving, they also specifically told them to get off at Handan and sweep Zuo Quan's grave. They really went, and each of them swept the cemetery with a broom.
Then, Gao Ruyi followed the troops to Guizhou to suppress bandits. Because of his bravery and good at fighting and charging, his position was gradually promoted to company commander. When resisting U.S. aggressing and aiding Korea , as the company commander of the Red Ninth Company, Gao Ruyi resolutely went to North Korea to fight and returned to China three years later.
After Gao Ruyi, who was 36 years old, returned to China in 1955, the organization planned to resettle him to the Northeast, and was still a section chief, but he refused. He explained that he had no education. The Northeast was an industrial district back then. What could I lead by a layman? For example, if you are assigned to a bus station, the car breaks down and cannot drive away, you don’t know anything about it. I might as well restore it. The whole country has been liberated and the Korean battlefield has been calm. I have fulfilled my loyalty to the country. I have to go home and be filial. There is still a mother in her seventies or eighties at home. The leader of could not twist him, so he let him go back. After returning to Xingtang , Gao Ruyi was arranged to go to the transport station and worked at the Shangbei site as a branch committee member. , who was used to charging into battle, always followed everyone to carry big bags. Because the shrapnel left on his left arm during the Battle of Crossing the River had not been taken out, he later didn't want to do it and went home to farm.
With the visit of county-level township leaders, Gao Ruyi's identity as a hero was untied. The 17 military medals from villagers rummaged through boxes and cabinets, Zhou Enlai's handwriting, photos taken on the Korean battlefield, gatherings of heroes in the 1950s, group photos of the 50th anniversary of the National Day, etc. finally wiped away the dust on them and shone on the homes of heroes.
Keep a calm mind, sometimes it is also a state of mind
In May 1968, Gao Ruyi felt pain in the humerus part of his left upper limb. After examination, he had a surgically removed a skin elastic at Shangbei Hospital. Crossing the river to fight , the shell skin entering Gao Ruyi's left arm was taken out, it stayed in Gao Ruyi's body for 20 years, and deeply tortured the hero for 20 years, and witnessed the 20 years of difficult progress of the Republic.
shell fragments
In 1999, Gao Ruyi, as one of the two representatives of Hebei Province, attended the 50th anniversary reception of the National Day held by the State Council. The old man put on his military uniform and treasured military medals, and arrived in Beijing in high spirits. In Beijing, he also met his old comrades whom he hadn't seen for 50 years.
Gao Ruyi’s photo in Beijing
Whenever someone asks, a squad leader of your back then becomes the commander of a military region, and you are still living a mediocre life in the countryside, do you envy others? He often just smiles, and perhaps only those who have been on the battlefield and experienced life and death understand that worldly evaluations are no longer important to him.
Gao Ruyi's wife and three sons are both working at home, and only one daughter stayed in Beijing as a soldier. The old couple lived in the old house Gao Ruyi built with demobilization fee back then. The three houses were only more than 20 square meters, and they were renovated once more than ten years ago. After the sons got married, they separated and paid 300 kilograms of wheat to their parents every year. Gao Ruyi has enjoyed subsidies issued by the civil affairs department since the 1980s, from 8 yuan, 10 yuan, and 12 yuan to more than 900 yuan. The two old men often pick up firewood together, and bake big cakes almost every day. "I have never enjoyed much happiness with him in my life." Gao Ruyi's wife said with a smile.
On January 26, 2007, Gao Ruyi ended his ordinary and extraordinary life at the age of 87.
A diligent and ordinary farmer wrote a letter because he was desperate, revealing his extraordinary first half of his life. His heroic events were like a ball of yarn that was pulled open, and he couldn't explain it. In the turbulent era, he was a fearless hero who went to fight to kill the enemy. In peaceful times, he was a simple farmer and worked diligently.
The country will not forget these peacemakers. No matter where they are now or how ordinary they live, we should not easily erase their great achievements in the first half of their lives. We should firmly remember what kind of blood and blood have been passed through. We will always miss the heroes who have paid their blood for peace.
