938, just 3 days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Xu Xiangqian, who had been in the Hexi Corridor in , returned to his hometown in Shanxi for the first time. It was 13 years since he was revolutionary. When he suddenly appeared at the door of his house, his father was stunned. I thought my son, who had been missing for a long time, had already encountered an unexpected accident, but I didn't expect to come back alive.
The news of Xu Xiangqian from the Eighth Route Army
The news of Xu Xiangqian coming back was like wings, and it quickly spread in Yong'an Village, Wutai County, Shanxi Province, and relatives and friends came one after another. A weak girl squeezed out from the crowd, secretly watching Xu Xiangqian in military uniform, wanting to speak but stopping. Xu Xiangqian's father was busy dealing with the guests. He suddenly saw her and immediately pulled her from the crowd, pushed her to Xu Xiangqian, and kept telling her: "Songzhi, call her father, call her father quickly! This is your father!"
Songzhi called her dad shyly, then blushed and broke free and ran away. Xu Xiangqian was so busy that he had just entered the house that he had not sat firmly. Why did a daughter appear for no reason?
Father was confused when he saw him and hurriedly reminded: "Xiangchan, do you still remember Xiangchan? She was born from Xiangchan!"
After his father reminded him, Xu Xiangqian finally realized. Zhu Xiangchan is a marriage arranged by his parents. Before he left home to make a revolution, although the two were married, the radical Xu Xiangqian pursued light. He left his hometown not long after, and took the initiative to join the revolutionary team. From then on, he wandered around the world and made his home. The two did not spend long together.
"Where is the fragrant cicada, why don't you see the fragrant cicada?" Xu Xiangqian, who was conscious, began to ask his father. "Xiangchan is so life is so painful. There is no news after you left. She feels uncomfortable. Not long after she gave birth to pine branches, she is sick and left." The father told him with tears.
Learning that Xiangchan was dead, Xu Xiangqian felt very uncomfortable and felt that he had harmed her, and tears suddenly surged out. The past has flashed like a movie.
924, Xu Xiangqian left his hometown and rushed to Guangzhou to apply for Whampoa Military Academy . During his time at school, he participated in the battles of reactionary warlords such as Yang Ximin and Liu Zhenhuan. In 1925, he was sent to leave Guangzhou and return to the north, and entered the Sixth Mixed Brigade of the Second Army of the National Army where Hu Jingyi and Yue Weijun were successively commanded, and served as instructors of the teaching battalion, his department's staff officer and deputy regiment commander.
Xu Xiangqian during the Whampoa Military Academy
The predecessor of this army was the 1st Division of the Shaanxi Army. After being adapted into the Second National Army, it was included in the Feng Yuxiang . Although this army responded to Sun Yat-sen's call and raised the banner of National Army in the north, it actually still cannot escape the nature of the warlord troops. At the end of that year, Feng Yuxiang's National Army was attacked by Zhang Zuolin and Wu Peifu and Fengzhi coalition forces, and Yue Weijun and the Second Army lost on the battlefields in Shandong and Shanxi successively. The second regiment of the Sixth Mixed Brigade where Xu Xiangqian was located was forced to withdraw from Dezhou, Shandong to Baoding, Hebei, and then transfer to Guangling, Shanxi, Yuanping and other places. But the enemy chased after him, and the troops lost contact with their superiors. They were defeated by the enemy and fled in all directions.
Xu Xiangqian began to hate this endless warlord melee, and was left the army and returned to his hometown. But after only 10 days of living at home, he said goodbye to his family again and embarked on the path of finding organizations and pursuing revolutionary truth. In accordance with the Party’s instructions, he participated in the revolutionary struggles in the Guangzhou Uprising and the Dabie Mountains region, and gradually grew into the commander-in-chief of the Red Fourth Front Army. Then he led his troops to fight from Dabie Mountain to Daba Mountain, and from Daba Mountain to Qilian Mountain. After the failure of the Western Route Army, he went through difficulties that ordinary people could not imagine, and with tenacious perseverance, he returned to Yan'an in the summer of 1937.
At this time, the Anti-Japanese War officially broke out, and the Kuomintang and the Communist Party began their second cooperation. The Red Army was adapted into the Eighth Route Army, and Xu Xiangqian was appointed as the deputy commander of the 129th Division. Soon, he followed Zhou Enlai, Peng Dehuai and others to go through Xi'an to Taiyuan to negotiate with Yan Xishan.After the negotiations were over, Zhou Enlai persuaded him to return to his hometown to visit his relatives. At this time, it had been 13 years since he left his hometown.
3 years passed away, and how many 13 years have you lived in a lifetime. When he returned to his hometown for the first time, things had changed. Not only did his mother die of illness, but his former close lover also passed away like smoke and clouds, but he had a daughter under his knees.
Although the father and daughter seemed a little alienated from each other for the first time, the natural blood relationship quickly made them get closer. Since childhood, I have no maternal love and lack of fatherly love. I rely on the pine branches raised by my grandfather and grandmother. I am no longer so shy or so shy. I happily say to everyone, "I have a father, I have a father, and my father is back."
Xu Xiangqian's former residence
Because of military affairs, Xu Xiangqian did not stay home for long. The war of resistance against Japan that had started was needed, and his troops were waiting for him to go back to command. He hurriedly visited his family and had a reunion dinner with his relatives and friends. He organized a propaganda conference for the anti-Japanese and national salvation movement in the local area, then stepped on the war horse, left his hometown of Chaoxi's dreams again, and rushed to the anti-Japanese battlefield without hesitation. Soon, the good news of Mingyang Fort bombing the Japanese soldiers' airport came.
Since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety have been difficult to achieve both loyalty and filial piety. Xu Xiangqian hurriedly returned to his hometown and left in a hurry. He had to return to his combat post. But there is a reality that can never be avoided. Since he already knows that he has a daughter, how can he not worry about it and think about it?
What happened later in his daughter who has been full of hardships since childhood? Did he follow his father's footsteps and also go to the forefront of the struggle against the enemy, or did he get married and have children in his hometown and farm in the countryside for the rest of his life like thousands of rural girls in the local area?
Due to the lack of historical materials, it seems difficult to answer this question. However, miracles often happen inadvertently.
In 2016, a book called "Follow Faith" began to be released and launched. The book is themed "Our family's story of the Long March ", which contains Xu Xiaoyan's memoir "The Power of Character". Xu Xiaoyan is the child of Lieutenant General of the Republic of the New Era, Xu Xiangqian and his wife Huang Jie. While recalling his father's strict requirements for every child, he revealed a clear detail. It is in this article that we were able to know some information about Xu Songzhi: "My elder sister Xu Zhiming (nickname Songzhi) was taken to the liberated area after her father arrived in Yan'an, and later studied medicine and became a doctor. Others say that with her elder sister's qualifications, she should be assigned a leadership position. But until she retired, the elder sister was always an ordinary medical worker. My father strictly demanded her family, and my elder sister never thought of borrowing her father's light."
According to Xu Xiaoyan's recollection article, we were surprised to find that Xu Songzhi was lucky to arrive in Yan'an, the revolutionary holy land. When did she arrive in Yan'an, and what ups and downs did she experience after arriving in Yan'an?
With the further exploration of this column, the life journey and marriage and love story of Xu Xiangqian's eldest daughter Xu Songzhi began to become clearer.
941, Xu Songzhi, who has grown up, ushered in the happiest moment in his life. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Yan'an has developed into a veritable revolutionary holy land, which naturally attracted the attention of countless advanced young people. Xu Songzhi, who was still working in her hometown, also wanted to go to Yan'an to participate in the revolution. In fact, before this, she had already consciously participated in the anti-Japanese and national salvation movement in her hometown. Just at this moment, Nie Rongzhen sent someone to find her and safely escorted her to Yan'an through the secret transportation line.
Jinchayi Military Region Commander Nie Rongzhen
Some people may be surprised, why wasn’t Xu Xiang coming to pick up his daughter, but Nie Rongzhen sent someone to take Xu Songzhi to Yan'an?
It turned out that Wutai County, Shanxi Province, where Xu Xiangqian's hometown was located, had been included in the jurisdiction of the anti-Japanese base area of the Jinchayi Border Region led by the Communist Party. Nie Rongzhen was the supreme commander of the Jinchayi Border Region.Xu Xiangqian was the commander of the First Column of the Eighth Route Army at that time, and the troops he led were mainly active in Shandong and Jiangsu areas. Back then, Xu Xiangqian was summoned by the central government and returned to Yan'an from the Shandong battlefield. Through some channels, he learned that his daughter wanted to participate in the revolution in Yan'an, so he entrusted Nie Rongzhen to do the matter. In this way, Xu Songzhi fulfilled his dream of rushing to Yan'an, the revolutionary holy land, as he wished.
After coming to Yan'an, Xu Songzhi immediately changed his name to Xu Zhiming in order to express his determination and will to "pursuing light and the future". Under the care and care of the Party, he began to receive a period of formal education and then sent it to a professional school specializing in training medical staff for further study. After graduation, Xu Zhiming became a doctor who saved lives and healed the wounded. Later, like her father, he walked onto the battlefield of the liberation battlefield without hesitation.
944 is the third year that Xu Zhiming has come to Yan'an. She ushered in the most beautiful and happiest moment in her life. After approval from the organization, she tied a knot with her favorite person with her father and colleagues sincerely blessed her. Everyone couldn't help but ask, who is her husband? Who is so lucky to suddenly marry Marshal Xu Xiangqian's daughter?
Ximeng Jialin and Xu Zhiming and his wife
With further in-depth digging in this column, we finally captured the accurate information of Xu Zhiming's husband: he is Xiong Jialin, the former guard of Xu Xiangqian.
Xiongjialin was born in 1917 in Liucang Village, Gangkou Town, Chaisang District, Jiujiang City (formerly Jiujiang County). Looking back at the shocking iron horses of the past, although he was young at that time, his revolutionary qualifications were quite old. In October 1927, a shocking event suddenly occurred in the northwest Jiangxi region. Under the leadership of Lin Xiujie, secretary of the Jiangbei Special Committee of the Communist Party of China, the peasants there suddenly launched an armed uprising and captured Xingzi County on October 3, 1927. Subsequently, the uprising team was pulled by Lin Xiujie to Jinben Temple in Minshan and created a revolutionary base centered on Minshan . It was affected by this major historical event that Xiong Jialin, who was only 10 years old, resolutely joined the revolutionary team and was fortunate to become one of the earliest soldiers of the Minshan guerrillas.
Minshan Revolutionary Base Schematic diagram
With the deepening of the revolutionary struggle, the Minshan guerrillas later developed into the Ninth Detachment of the Red Army in northern Jiangxi. In mid-July 1930, in accordance with the central government's instructions of the "Northwest Jiangxi Red Army, immediately incorporated into the Eighth Army", the northern Jiangxi Red Army guerrillas went to Yangxinlonggang, where the Hubei-East Special Committee of the Communist Party of China, and combined with some other troops to form the 5th Column of the Red 8th Army. After a period of training, they began to cross the Yangtze River 2 northwards, enter the Qihuangguang area, and successfully met with the 4th Column of the Red 8th Army, which had crossed the river in advance. Then, it made great efforts in the Qihuangguang area, which not only promoted the local revolutionary movement, but also consolidated and expanded the red revolutionary base there.
According to the central instructions, on October 16, 1930, the 4th and 5th columns of the Red 8th Army were combined into the Red 15th Army in Kaotian Mountain in the territory of Huangmei . Soon after, the commander Cai Shenxi was taken to the central area of the Dabie Mountain Revolutionary Base and joined forces with the Red 1st Army led by the commander Xu Jishen. In accordance with the instructions of the central government, it was combined into , Red 4th Army in January of the following year, with the commander Kuang Jixun and political commissar Yu Dusan.
It is in this historical context that Xiong Jialin, who was only 13 years old, suddenly left his hometown and came to the hinterland of the Dabie Mountains. So at such a young age, why did he suddenly become the guard of Xu Xiangqian, the commander-in-chief of the Red Fourth Front Army?
After Zhang Guotao came to the Dabie Mountains area to start the establishment of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Branch of the Communist Party of China, he adjusted the leadership of the Red Army. Xu Xiangqian took over the position of former commander Kuang Jixun and was promoted to commander of the Red 4th Army. Once, Xu Xiangqian went out of the army to guide the battle, and suddenly discovered a young Xiong Jialin, who was short and young, and thought to himself how could there be such a small Red Army? After some understanding, I quickly learned his background. Seeing that he was smart and cute, I took him to the military headquarters to serve as correspondent . In November of that year, the Dabie Mountains area created the Red 25th Army, and then combined it with the existing Red 4th Army to form the Red Fourth Front Army. Xiong Jialin still stayed at the headquarters as a communications officer.Not long after, he was transferred to the headquarters guard force and officially became Xu Xiangqian's full-time guard.
In the following days, Xiong Jialin followed Xu Xiangqian's footsteps, first from Dabie Mountain to Daba Mountain; then crossed the Jialing River from Daba Mountain, and participated in the Long March with his troops in March 1935. During this period, Xiong Jialin was transferred to the front-line combat troops and began to lead troops to fight. When Xu Xiangqian led his troops to form the Western Route Army into the Hexi Corridor, the troops where Xiong Jialin was located were blocked by the enemy on the east bank of the Yellow River . In July 1936, Xiong Jialin arrived in northern Shaanxi with his troops and was then sent to the Red Army University for training. Not long after, Xu Xiangqian, who had experienced a lifetime of death on the battlefield of the Western Route Army, begged all the way back to Yan'an.
1 In July 1937, the War of Resistance officially broke out, and Xiong Jialin was incorporated into the 385th Brigade of the 129th Division. Under the training and education of the leader, he served as the company commander of the spy company directly under the brigade department, the teaching team leader, and the communications section chief of the headquarters. On the battlefield of fighting against Japanese invaders, eliminating traitors, and moving to the Taihang Mountains, Xiong Jialin always kept in mind the teachings of the old leader Xu Xiangqian and made many contributions. Once, he led his troops to camp in a mountain village, but was suddenly attacked by the Japanese army. In order to lead his troops out of danger, he led the way, took the lead in charge, and fought out a bloody path and led the troops out of the encirclement. It was in this battle that his right ear was injured by the Japanese grenade , leaving behind stubborn sequelae.
After Xu Zhiming was sent to Yan'an by Nie Rongzhen from his hometown, he first received education at school and then sent to the hospital to engage in medical work. Xiong Jialin has been commanding and fighting on the front line of the Anti-Japanese battlefield. How were these two young people who were originally from different sides lucky to get together, from getting to know each other, and then to falling in love?
It turned out that just the year when Xu Zhiming came to Yan'an with joy, Xiong Jialin was also transferred back to Yan'an from the front of the battlefield in August of that year. He first studied in the military and political research class established by the Yan'an Left-behind Corps, and then was sent to the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China. After graduation, he was sent to the Yan'an Joint Defense Command as a confidential secretary.
It is unimaginable that at this moment, Xu Xiangqian, who was then the commander of the First Column of the Eighth Route Army, happened to be in Yan'an. Xu Xiangqian suddenly returned to Yan'an from the Shandong battlefield under the order of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China at the end of 1940. He came from afar to attend an extremely important meeting. But unfortunately, during the meeting in Yan'an, he was kicked seriously injured by a fierce horse and forced to be hospitalized for a long time. Due to physical reasons, after being discharged from the hospital, he had to stay in Yan'an temporarily and formed the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia-Shenzhen-Suizhou Joint Defense Command with He Long, Gao Gang and others, and served as deputy commander and chief of staff.
1940 Xu Xiangqian returned to Yan'an from the Shandong battlefield
Xu Xiangqian was in Yan'an at that time. Two people closely related to Xu Xiangqian also arrived in Yan'an one after another. One was the daughter of Xu Xiangqian and his first wife, and the other was Xu Xiangqian's former guard. The age gap between the two is not too big, and there are always many opportunities to meet. After a while, they became familiar with each other. In addition, with Xu Xiangqian's intentional interference, the two gradually developed into a sweet friendship, and finally got together as they wished.
According to the verification of this column, one thing can be basically confirmed: in 1944, Xu Zhiming and Xiong Jialin officially got married in Yan'an. Judging from the qualifications of the "285th Regiment" to get married at that time, Xiong Jialin was already a regiment-level cadre at that time. If there were no surprises later, he would have been one of the major generals of the Republic.
946, Chiang Kai-shek tore up the " Double Ten Agreement " and took the initiative to launch the civil war . Xiong Jialin and his wife Xu Zhiming left Yan'an, rushed to the front line of the Liberation War, and went to the 13th Regiment of the Fifth Brigade of the Ji'nan Military Region to which Liu Deng's army belonged to serve as deputy commander and deputy political commissar. At the end of June 1947, Liu and Deng's army crossed the Yellow River south, opening the prelude to the Dabie Mountains thousands of miles away. In this team, there are frequent battles between Xiong Family and Lin. At this time, Xiong Jialin had been promoted to the commander of the 13th Regiment of the 5th Brigade and participated in famous battles such as Dingtao and Yangshanji.It is worth mentioning that in the Dingtao Battle , the enemy's tank rushed forward, causing great damage to our combat troops. In order to destroy the enemy's tanks, Xiong Jialin, as the regiment commander, went barefoot and led the way. He successfully blew up the enemy's tanks with grenades and flesh and blood, and was awarded the title of combat hero by the headquarters.
Liu Deng's army crossed the Huaihe River and successfully leaped into the Dabie Mountains, and the troops immediately implemented the strategy according to the original combat plan. Xiong Jialin was appointed as the commander of the Huogu Regional Command, responsible for commanding the troops to launch the strategy in the Huoqiu and Gushi Belt. With his tenacious will and strong style, he successfully completed the task assigned to him by the leader. Soon after, he followed the main force of Liu and Deng's army out of Dabie Mountains and led his troops to participate in the Huaihai Battle .
1949, Hubei Province had basically liberated, but there were still a large number of bandit suppression tasks. Xiong Jialin was transferred to the commander of the Independent Regiment of the Hubei Provincial Military Region, which belongs to the division-level system. Soon he was appointed as the head of the Wuhan City Guard Regiment, working hard to defend and consolidate the new people's regime.
If there were no subsequent accidents, Xiong Jialin and Xu Zhiming, the couple who suffered in childhood, had a similar and loving couple who became like-minded and loved each other, would have a more exciting future. But it is sad and regrettable that due to repeated injuries during the war era and overwork, Xiong Jialin, who had already seen with his own eyes the founding of New China, died in a hospital in Beijing in June 1950 at the age of 33.
There is also great luck in the misfortune. Xiong Jialin and Xu Zhiming have a daughter and a son. But when he passed away, his daughter Xiong Lufeng was only 4 years old, and his son Xu Luning had just arrived in the world, and was less than 4 months old.
Xu Zhiming took a photo with his son Xu Luning
Xiong Jialin died young. Xu Zhiming was deeply saddened and cried so hard that his liver and gallbladder were broken, but the two young children under his knees were still waiting for her to raise them. After experiencing many hardships since childhood, she was fortunate to return to Xu Xiangqian and was influenced by her father's great character. Xu Zhiming had already developed a tenacious and tenacious character and will. Although her husband unfortunately passed away, her life still needs to continue. With her weak body, she worked hard to support a clear sky for her two young children, and finally raised them into humans and make them pillars in the army of socialist construction.
In 2019, "Red Boat Editorial Department" suddenly published an exclusive interview article in which an old man named Xu Luning revealed his life to the media for the first time: "I was born in February 1950, and my father suddenly passed away four months later. My father is Xiong Jialin, Xu Xiangqian's guard group. Although I am now with my mother's surname Xu, I should actually be Xiong, and Xiong Luning." The protagonist in the photo below is Mr. Xu Luning, who is Xu Zhiming's biological son.
Xu Zhiming's son Xu Luning
As Xu Xiangqian's eldest daughter, Xu Zhiming has had a halo since she came to Yan'an, but she is not willing to live in the protection of her father. Instead, like her young father, she relies on her own to find everything. Even if her husband dies early due to illness, even if her two children are hungry, she is still so optimistic and strong; no matter how hard or difficult life is, she never plays out her father's sign and reaches out to make additional requests to the unit or organization. Xu Zhiming is an ordinary woman, coming from ordinary to ordinary, but she is also a great female surname. Her self-improvement and perseverance are worthy of our eternal respect.
