On September 9, 1976, the great people's leader Mao Zedong died of illness and left his beloved motherland and people forever. On this day when the whole country was mourning, a core engineer from the Fifth Institute of Beijing came to ask for leave from the leader. The leader as

On September 9, 1976, the great people's leader Mao Zedong died of illness and left the motherland and people he loved forever. On this day when the whole country was mourning, a core engineer from the Fifth Institute of Beijing came to ask for leave from the leader. The leader asked him curiously why. He lowered his head and said sadly: "My uncle, Chairman Mao, passed away..."

It was not until this day that colleagues and leaders of the institute realized that he was Chairman Mao's nephew He Lucheng!

What did He Lu have to hide his identity over the years? As Mao Zedong's nephew, what kind of life did he experience?

Picture | He Lucheng

1. Your mother came to pick you up

He Lucheng, real name Mao Anying, biological mother He Yi is the sister of Mao Zedong's former wife He Zizhen, so he is of the same generation as Mao Anying, Mao Anying, Mao Anying and others. But He Lucheng was not only Mao Zedong's nephew, but also Mao Zedong's nephew.

"He" is the mother's surname, and "Lu" refers to Yuelu Mountain in Changsha, which means missing your hometown. "Cheng" means that the revolution will definitely succeed. Like Li Min and Li Na, He Lucheng did not use his real name.

It was in the early autumn of 1934. The Red Army failed in the fifth anti-"encirclement and suppression" campaign and was forced to implement a strategic transfer. Before leaving, the organization ordered Mao Zetan and He Yi to stay in Ruijinsu District and continue to engage in guerrilla struggles with the remaining enemies.

He Yi was pregnant at that time. She was walking through the mountains and ridges in southern Jiangxi with her big belly, insisting on fighting with the enemy. In January of the following year, He Yi gave birth to He Lucheng in a small mountain village in the local area.

The arrival of the newborn did not bring much joy to Mao Zeqian. The child was weak and cried. The Red Army hid in the dense forest, bringing a baby to the danger of exposure. After thinking about it over and over again, Mao Zetan reluctantly handed over the child to the local fellow villagers to raise him. When the right time was right, he would take the child to transfer.

Unexpectedly, Mao Zetan died less than three months old.

On April 26, 1935, Mao Zetan, the commander of the Independent Division of the Red Army, unfortunately died in Ruijin's breakthrough. His wife He Yi was in a crazy pursuit of the enemy. She was in a very dangerous situation and hid everywhere and could not contact He Lucheng.

The young He Lucheng grew up slowly at the home of a farmer named He Diaoyuan in Huating Village, Xinxian County. He Diaoyuan is a local rich peasant. He Lucheng's life is very stable and he does not lack food and clothing.

He Tiaoyuan claimed to the public that He Lucheng was a "orphan" without a father or mother and had been adopted by the He family. Therefore, He Lucheng was often bullied and ridiculed by children of the same age in the village. Every time he was bullied, He Lucheng always sat alone at the door of the woodshed and spoke to the stars in the sky.

As he grows older, He Lucheng heard about the heroic deeds of the People's Liberation Army. He firmly believes that his parents are soldiers, otherwise how could he die at a young age? He ran to ask his grandfather He Diaoyuan, who he hesitated and refused to answer every time.

In August 1949, Yongxin County was liberated, and the People's Liberation Army came to the small mountain village at the foot of Jinggang Mountain where He Lucheng was located.

He Lucheng was so excited that he didn't sleep all night. Before dawn, he pulled his friends to the entrance of the village to see the People's Liberation Army. When the People's Liberation Army team walked into the village with neat steps, He Lucheng shouted excitedly. He said to his friends excitedly, "My father and my mother must be like this! I want to be the People's Liberation Army too!"

He Tiaoyuan showed an indescribable complex expression when he saw He Lucheng. He slowly walked behind the "grandson" and asked, "Chengcheng, do you want to join the army?"

He Lucheng said without looking back: "I want to go! How glorious it is to be a soldier!"

Hearing this, He Tiaoyuan shook his head helplessly and pulled He Lucheng back home.

As soon as He Lucheng entered the house, a jeep was parked at the door of the house. When neighbors saw it, they ran to the door of He's house to watch.

A middle-aged woman in Lenin's outfit, combed neatly short hair, and about 40 years old. Seeing this woman, He Tiaoyuan immediately changed his face. He recognized this woman at first sight as He Yi who handed He Lucheng to him 14 years ago!

pic | He Yi

He Yi happily walked towards He Tiaoyuan with the gift. He Lucheng hid behind his grandfather embarrassedly. Seeing this, He Tiaoyuan pulled his grandson out of behind him, pushed him to He Yi's side, and said, "Chengcheng, your mother is here to pick you up!"

Hearing this sentence, He Lucheng was like five thunder. He has lived a fatherless life for 14 years, why did he suddenly have another mother!

He dared not look up and looked up at the woman beside him. Seeing this, He Yi bent down and hugged He Lucheng into his arms.

This is something I haven't experienced in 14 years. The warm hug of my mother alone, the stubborn He Lucheng suddenly shed tears and leaned against He Yi's arms and kept sobbing.

The scene of the mother and son reunion is so touching that He Tiaoyuan stood aside and was so moved that he was crying.

He Yi hugged her son tightly in her arms and choked and said, "Mom's little Chengcheng, I'm sorry for you all these years. Mom is late!"

He Tiaoyuan saw this and quickly urged, "Chengcheng, why are you still standing there? Call me mom!"

"Mom..." He Lucheng said timidly.

"Hey! Good boy!" He Yi agreed loudly.

It was not until this moment that He Lucheng dared to look up at the woman in front of him. The dignified, gentle and military-spirited woman in front of him was his mother.

The children who bullied He Lucheng outside the door cried and hid back home, for fear that He Lucheng would settle the score later.

After living in Huating Village for a few days, He Yi took He Lucheng away from this place where he had lived for 14 years. He Lucheng reluctantly said goodbye to his grandfather. He Tiaoyuanyu instructed earnestly: "Chengcheng, you must listen to your mother in the future! Study hard and have a future!"

He Lucheng nodded vigorously and said: "Grandpa, I will definitely write to you often. When I make money, I will come back to see you!"

Then, He Lucheng followed He Yi into a jeep. He was very nervous when he was riding in the car for the first time. After a while, he was motion sick by the bumpy mountain road. He accidentally vomited on He Yi. He Yi was not angry at all, but just hugged his son and felt very distressed.

After a while, He Lucheng fell asleep uncomfortable. He Yi looked at He Lucheng's eyebrows and eyes and found that his son and husband Mao Zetan looked very similar, and they were simply carved from the same mold. He Yi couldn't help but feel deeply moved.

Picture | Mao Zetan

2. I don’t want you to tell anyone whose child you are

After returning to Ji'an, He Yi told He Lucheng everything that year, such as: Why did he be fostered at He Tiaoyuan’s house, how did his father Mao Zetan sacrifice, and He Lucheng’s “real identity”.

"Xiao Chengcheng, I heard from my mother that your father Mao Zetan sacrificed for the revolution. Your uncle Mao Zedong is the president of the country, and your second uncle is a revolutionary martyr!"

Hearing these words, He Lucheng opened his mouth wide. He never thought that Chairman Mao, who was always talking about every day, respected and loved by others, turned out to be his uncle, and his father was a great revolutionary martyr.

"Mom doesn't want you to benefit from them, nor do you want you to tell anyone whose child you are. I hope you can study scientific knowledge hard, become a person who has contributed to the country, and add glory to your parents and family!"

He Lucheng nodded vigorously and said sensiblely: "Mom! I will study hard and become a scientist in the future!"

The days when I live with my mother, whether it is poor or rich, are happy. Unfortunately, such a beautiful life lasted for only 3 months, and it ended forever because of an accident.

In November 1949, He Yi took He Lucheng to find He Zizhen's lost son "Little Maomao". As a result, on the way back to Ji'an, the car suddenly overturned. He Yi, who was quick-eyed and quick-handed, pushed his son to the other side. He was tightly pressed by the car and died on the spot. One of He Lucheng's left leg was also stuck in the car.

The infinitely warm maternal love has only been enjoyed for only 3 months, and it has been more sad to lose it again than to lose it without gaining it.

At the mother's funeral, He Lucheng touched his mother's portrait over and over again, without saying a word, unable to cry a tear. His heart felt as if he was pinched hard, and his excessive sadness even made him lose his ability to react.

Until aunt He Zizhen appeared at the funeral, looking at the face similar to her mother, He Lucheng threw himself into his aunt's arms and cried loudly, crying out all the sadness in his heart.

grew up as an orphan and had never experienced fatherly love. He just recognized his mother for 3 months and his mother passed away. He Lucheng's first half of his life was too hard. He Zizhen felt sorry for the child from the bottom of her heart. She hugged He Lucheng and said, "From the future, I will treat me as your mother. As long as I am here, I will not let you suffer."

He Lucheng burst into tears and nodded vigorously.

pic | He Zizhen

After the funeral, He Lucheng followed He Zizhen back to Shanghai, and his uncle He Minxue, then Shanghai air defense commander, came to the airport to greet them in person.

He Minxue, who was born in the army, found something wrong when he saw He Lucheng. He was obviously not disabled, but He Lucheng was a little unnatural when walking, so he asked, "Why don't you walk well?"

He Lucheng replied embarrassedly, "My left leg hurts a little."

Hearing this, He Zizhen and He Minxue were stunned. He Lucheng had been acting very normal after the car accident. He thought nothing was wrong, but after so long, his left leg still hurts, and it was obvious that there was something wrong.

He Minxue sent He Lucheng to the hospital without saying a word.

After the examination, the doctor said anxiously: "This child has two fractures on his left leg. He has to undergo surgery quickly. He has to endure it for so long and doesn't say anything. He is so perseverance."

Hearing this, He Minxue was shocked. He was also a person who came down from the battlefield. He knew how painful the fracture was. He Lucheng could endure it for so long and insist on walking. His willpower was far beyond ordinary people!

When He Lucheng had the operation, He Minxue said with great emotion: "This child is exactly the same as his father, he is a person who can resist and endure it!"

The operation was successfully completed, but the doctor told He Zizhen to take care of him. In the next few months, He Lucheng must walk with a crutch so that the bones will grow together by themselves, otherwise the sequelae will be suffered.

With He Zizhen's careful care and He Lucheng's unremitting efforts, he quickly threw away the crutches and walked with his own strength.

Like his mother He Yi, his aunt He Zizhen often said to him: "Don't live by her parents, and don't benefit from Chairman Mao's glory. You must be as self-reliant and self-reliant as the children of ordinary people. I don't want you to tell anyone whose child you are. You must rely on your own strength to become a person with real talent and knowledge!"

He Lucheng failed to catch up with the war era, but caught up with the era when the country was in a mess and urgently needed talents. He Lucheng made up his mind to study science and technology hard and make a contribution to our country's national defense science and technology cause!

Under the arrangement of his aunt, He Lucheng entered Shanghai Middle School. He only had a junior high school degree, but for the first time said to He Zizhen: "Aunt, I want to go to the second year of high school directly."

He was also a little surprised when he heard this. He Minxue smiled and reminded, "This is not a middle school in Jinggangshan. Shanghai's courses are very advanced. You may not be able to keep up if you jump to the second year of high school!"

He Lucheng shook his head and said firmly: "Uncle, I can!"

In this way, Shanghai Middle School has an extra child with a dialect and a bottom grade in the second grade of high school. Since He Lucheng was a skip grade student and could not keep up with the school's teaching progress, He Lucheng, who was unwilling to accept, used all his rest time. When other students were resting and having fun, he still stayed in his seat to read, and he always studied hard when he returned home.

He Lucheng also converted a small warehouse in his home into a study. Whenever he has time, he would dive into this small room to read and study.

pic | He Minxue

Once many guests came to his home. He Zizhen and He Minxue were busy greeting guests and forgot to remind He Lucheng to have dinner. Unexpectedly, He Lucheng, who was too fascinated by reading books, actually learned from morning to night, and the guests left until midnight. He Minxue remembered that He Lucheng had not eaten yet.

Seeing that he worked so hard in his studies, He Zizhen and He Minxue felt very distressed. They tried every means to find some delicious food to supplement his nutrition, and would squeeze out time to take He Lucheng to the park to play. However, He Lucheng was always uninterested in these leisure activities. Later, he simply said, "Uncle and aunt, I still have a lot of homework. Let's go next time."

In less than half a year, He Lucheng kept up with the school's progress with several times the effort of others and graduated from Shanghai Middle School with excellent results.

He Lucheng, who graduated from high school, ushered in the first intersection of his life. Many of his classmates entered the workplace after graduation, and some people joined the army and served the country in their own way. You must know that it was already quite difficult to train a high school student back then.

He Zizhen specifically found He Lucheng to talk: "Chengcheng, are you preparing for work or continuing to go to college? No matter what choice you make, my aunt will support you."

He Lucheng thought for a moment and said, "Mom asked me to study scientific knowledge hard and become a person who has contributed to the country. I want to continue to go to college." He Minxue, who was next to

He said with satisfaction: "Okay, this kid has ambition! Learn something real and be a person who has contributed to the country!"

Seeing that both my aunt and uncle said this, He Lucheng made up his mind to continue studying and realize his dream of becoming a scientist.

In 1952, He Lucheng participated in the first college entrance examination in New China and successfully passed the Shanghai Jiaotong University.

On the first day of school, He Lucheng got the file registration form. Looking at the column of his parents, he wrote without thinking: "Death."

did not write the uncle's name, nor did his aunt and uncle, just because He Yi had instructed him to "not want him to disclose his identity to anyone." Unexpectedly, He Lucheng lived incognito for most of his life.

At that time, all the expenses for college students were borne by the state, and the school also issued living allowances every month. He Lucheng saved money and sent all the money to his grandfather He Tiaoyuan's family who raised him.

In 1956, He Lucheng, who graduated from university, once again stood in the watershed of his life. At that time, many domestic universities opened research institutes. Should they continue to study for graduate school in China or work in a job? He Lucheng was entangled, and in desperation, he found his uncle He Minxue.

He Minxue only said one sentence: "Our country urgently needs scientific research talents!"

Hearing this sentence, He Lu understood. He bowed deeply to his uncle and said, "Thank you, I know how to choose."

He Lucheng directly entered the Fifth Institute of National Defense to study "surface-to-ground missiles." When He learned that He Lucheng had gone to the Fifth Institute, He Minxue was worried. His university major was electrification, which had nothing to do with aerospace technology. He Lucheng's choice of the Fifth Institute means that he has to start from scratch and re-learning a advanced subject in a short period of time, which is tantamount to descarption.

He Minxue expressed his concerns: "The Fifth Research Institute is a good place for scientific research, but you can't hold back when you go in!"

He Lucheng knew what his uncle meant, so he pulled his uncle to sit down and said earnestly: "I have had a dream of joining the army since I was a child. Later, my mother told me to study scientific knowledge hard, serve the country, and do ground-to-ground missile research to perfectly integrate my dream with my mother's expectations, and combine it with the needs of the country. This is the most perfect choice!"

"Such a perfect choice, let alone take off one layer of skin, I am willing to go even if I take off two layers of skin!"

Hearing my nephew's heartfelt words, my uncle He Minxue was very happy and patted He Lucheng's shoulder hard and said several times "Okay"!

pic | He Minxue

3. My uncle Chairman Mao passed away

He Lucheng quickly went to Beijing, put on the military uniform he had always dreamed of, and went further with his uncle Mao Zedong. However, he followed his mother's instructions, but he did not choose to recognize his uncle, nor even told Mao Zedong. He knew that if he told Mao Zedong about this, his uncle would inevitably help him in his future work and life, and this was not what his mother wanted to see.

It was very difficult to transfer from electrification to the aerospace field. He Lucheng once again exerted his spirit of studying at night and overcame difficulties every day. He soon received the task of studying missiles. However, our country knew nothing about missiles at that time, and the little bit of existing information was also missed by Soviet experts at that time. Most of them were written in Russian and needed to be translated into Chinese before they could be used internally.

He Lucheng recommended himself and took the initiative to take over the translation work, and promised his leader that he would not take up any working hours.

From this day on, He Lucheng came to the institute early every morning and started translating with a bunch of materials. When it was time to work, he devoted himself to researching missiles. After get off work, he returned home with a bunch of materials and was busy until the middle of the night before going to bed with his clothes. The next day, I woke up early and went to the research institute with a bunch of information. This kind of work day and night lasted for 4 years.

He Minxue warned He Lucheng to devote himself to scientific research and technology and contribute the greatest strength to the country's national defense science and technology undertakings.

He Lucheng followed his uncle's words, devoted himself to research, and achieved many extraordinary achievements!

In 1964, China's first medium- and short-range missile flight test was successful, which was inseparable from He Lucheng's careful research. He Lucheng also made outstanding contributions in the development of second-generation and third-generation missiles in my country.

In 1980, He Lucheng became the first person in the General Staff system to be awarded a senior professional title, and became a rare senior technical expert in the Mao family.

After so many years of busy life, He Lucheng has never exposed his identity, and even his family does not know his existence.

Picture|Li Min

On August 29, 1959, Li Min got married, Mao Zedong said to Li Min, "You have an older brother in Beijing, and you want to invite him to the wedding."

Li Min was shocked when she heard this and asked curiously, "What is his name?"

Mao Zedong replied, "He Lucheng, he is amazing, you should learn more from him."

It seems that even though He Lucheng himself has not disclosed it, Mao Zedong still pays attention to the every move of the He family and admires his promising nephew very much.

It’s a pity that the phone number of the military department where He Lucheng was located was difficult to find, and Li Min did not find it. It was not until Chairman Mao’s death that He Lucheng’s identity was revealed to the world!

After Chairman Mao passed away, Li Min asked the funeral committee to add He Lucheng's name to the list of relatives. The comrades of the committee asked curiously: "Is He Lucheng the He Lucheng the core engineer of our country's first batch of space missiles?"

Li Min nodded, and everyone was shocked. Unexpectedly, he turned out to be Mao Zedong's nephew and nephew.

Picture | Chairman Mao

On this day, He Lucheng went to the leader of the research institute to ask for leave. The leader curiously asked him the reason. He Lucheng then said, "My uncle, Chairman Mao, has passed away."

When he heard this, the leader and his colleagues were shocked. He had such a special identity but had never made it public. Even those colleagues who had worked with him for many years did not expect that He Lucheng had such a strong background relationship!

Colleague asked him why he was unwilling to disclose his identity. He Lucheng quoted a sentence from Mao Anying and replied: "New China is different from old China. Mao Zedong's relatives are different from Chiang Kai-shek's relatives. The era of royal relatives making money by relying on their own strength is gone forever. The era of relying on their own labor and talents to make a living has come!"

Hearing this, everyone in the institute couldn't help but give He Lucheng a thumbs up.

Picture | In his later years, He Lucheng

He Lucheng has been low-key all his life and has made great contributions to my country's national defense science and technology cause. His spirit and character are worthy of the title of "descendants of the Mao family" and are always worthy of our learning!