Like many founding generals, Chen Xilian also had a hard time. His father died of illness at the age of three, and his mother lived through hardships with several children. In order to make a living, Chen Xilian followed his mother and sister to dig wild vegetables at a young age and suffered a lot. When he was 5 years old, Chen Xilian and a few friends were playing by the small well at the entrance of the village. I don’t know who found a frog in the well. The boy was naughty, so he was about to catch the frog. They bent down one by one and reached out to fish the frog, but because the man had small arms, they could not reach the frog at all.
Finally, Chen Xilian came up with a solution to let the friends hold their legs. He bent down and reached out to the well to catch the frog. This was a good idea, but the children were too curious, and they stretched their heads to the well, competing to see the frogs inside, but failed to hold Chen Xilian's legs down. With a thump, Chen Xilian fell into the well. The children above were so scared that they screamed desperately. It happened that Chen Xilian's fourth uncle came home from outside and walked to the village head. He heard the shouts and rushed over. Fortunately, the small well was not too deep. The fourth uncle lay down and pulled Chen Xilian's arm with his hand, pulling him up. After this incident, Chen Xilian's mother never let him play at the well. As she was a little older, Chen Xilian began to herd cattle for the landlord's house. The owner was very mean and often made things difficult for him. Once Chen Xilian had a stomachache and could not work, but the landlord said that he was pretending and beat him up. Chen Xilian was so angry that he ran back home and never went to herd cattle for the landlord's house again.
This year, the weather was severely drought, and the crops were not harvested, and his mother took a few children to escape from the famine. When she walked to the entrance of the village, she met Chen Zhibin's distant uncle. Chen Zhibin's family had a great career and always rampant in the village, bullying the kind. At this time, he saw Chen Xilian's mother with a few children to escape from the famine. Not only did he not help them, but he also thought they had lost the face of the Chen family. So he brought people forward to stop him and said a lot of unruly words. Chen Xilian's mother couldn't help but tell a few words, and Chen Zhibin actually ordered her minions to beat her. Chen Xilian was so angry that she wanted to go forward and fight desperately, but was stopped by her mother.
Not long afterwards Red Army came to his hometown. Chen Xilian heard that the Red Army was a team dedicated to conquer the world for the poor people, so he signed up for the army without hesitation. Because of his brave combat and good command, Chen Xilian made rapid progress. By the end of the War of Liberation, he was already the commander of the corps who commanded more than 100,000 troops. After the founding of New China, Chen Xilian served as commander of the Shenyang Military Region and the Beijing Military Region. In January 1975, Chen Xilian was promoted to the Standing Committee of the Central Military Commission, and also served as Vice Premier of the State Council, in charge of national defense industry and sports.
In early February 1976, the central government issued Document No. 1 , with two main contents: one was proposed by Chairman Mao, and the central government was political. The bureau unanimously approved it, and Hua Guofeng was appointed acting Premier of the State Council; the other was proposed by Chairman Mao and the Political Bureau of the Central Committee was unanimously approved it. During Ye Jianying's illness, Chen Xilian was responsible for presiding over the work of the Central Military Commission. After the "September 13 Incident", Ye Jianying began to preside over the work of the Central Military Commission. At this time, he was suddenly replaced by Chen Xilian. Some people did not understand the reason and believed that Chen Xilian "snatched" Marshal Ye's military power, and criticized him for this. At the same time, he was misunderstood by Ye Jianying and Su Yu .
Chen Xilian's wife Wang Xuanmei recalled the matter and said that at that time, the rumors that "Chen Xilian seized Ye Jianying's military power" were once very popular. I heard that Ye Jianying wanted to withdraw from Beijing and live in Guangzhou. Once Chen Xilian called: "Master Ye, you can't go to Guangzhou. "Ye Jianying was a little angry when she heard this: "Are you afraid that I will make trouble?" If I want to make trouble, where can I not make trouble? "Chen Xilian, who felt that he was misunderstood, told his wife: "I kept Marshal Ye in Beijing because I wanted to keep one more vote in the Politburo. "
So why did Chairman Mao ask Chen Xilian to replace Marshal Ye to take charge of the three armies? Because Premier Zhou had passed away at that time, Chairman Mao was not in good health, and the "Gang of Four" and his group took the opportunity to siege Deng Xiaoping and Ye Jianying. Chairman Mao asked Marshal Ye to retreat for a period of time at this time, which was also a kind of protection for him.After Marshal Ye retires, who will take charge of the three armies? Chairman Mao chose Chen Xilian.
Chen Xilian said in his memoir: "At that time, I was a member of the Standing Committee of the Military Commission and a member of the Politburo, including me, Wang Dongxing, Wang Hongwen, Zhang Chunqiao and others. Chairman Mao said that Xilian participated in the revolution since he was a child, knew how to fight, led the Corps, and managed artillery, and the State Council also had a position, so let him take charge of it."
In addition, when Chen Xilian was the commander of the Shenyang Military Region, he had a good relationship with Mao Yuanxin. During the Cultural Revolution, Mao Yuanxin, Jiang Qing and others came together. Due to this relationship, Chen Xilian came forward to preside over the work of the Central Military Commission, and the "Gang of Four" and his group were more acceptable. Facts have proved that Chairman Mao’s move is very wise. After Chen Xilian presided over the work of the Military Commission , the "Gang of Four" believed that Marshal Ye had lost power, so he reduced his attacks on him. Marshal Ye took the opportunity to plan with Hua Guofeng and formulated a specific plan to smash the "Gang of Four".
In the process of smashing the "Gang of Four", Chen Xilian also made a very important contribution. Hua Guofeng once negotiated with him four times, and he clearly stated that he would fight resolutely with the "Gang of Four". To arrest the "Gang of Four" and its followers, we must use the troops of the Beijing Garrison District. Chen Xilian authorized Wu Zhong, the then commander of the Garrison District, and Wu De, to act according to the opportunity without asking for instructions step by step. After the "Gang of Four" was shattered, Chen Xilian proposed to Hua Guofeng that Ye Jianying would continue to preside over the work of the Central Military Commission. Hua Guofeng said that Marshal Ye would assist him in handling domestic affairs, and the work of the Military Commission was still under the leadership of Chen Xilian.
After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee , Chen Xilian specifically explained the fact that he took charge of the three armies on behalf of Marshal Ye. After the people who did not know the situation understood the situation, they eliminated the misunderstanding of Chen Xilian. Once, Chen Xilian was sick and stayed in 301 Hospital. Su Yu was also hospitalized here, so he came to visit Chen Xilian and told him: I didn’t understand the situation before, but now I figured it out, and that’s not the case at all. Later, when Deng Xiaoping talked to Chen Xilian about this matter, he said to him: "I understand you, you have no ambitions." In 1980, in order to respond to the call for the rejuvenation of cadres, Chen Xilian voluntarily resigned from all leadership positions and was soon elected as a member of the Standing Committee of the Advisory Committee of the Central Committee of . In 1999, Chen Xilian died of illness at the age of 85.
Main reference materials for this article: "Memoirs of Chen Xilian"
