In 1963, Zhai Wenqing, deputy commander of the 118th Division of the 40th Army, went to Inner Mongolia for a routine inspection. While visiting a horse farm, he accidentally met a homeless man.
This homeless man is unshaven, covered in dirt, and looks to be in his forties or fifties.
Zhai Wenqing looked at those familiar eyes and asked tentatively:
"Are you Yu Shuilin?"
The homeless man raised his head, looked at the man in a mighty military uniform in front of him, and suddenly jumped up excitedly:
"Instructor Zhai? Why are you here?"
Hearing a familiar voice, Zhai Wenqing rushed forward and hugged the homeless man tightly. The local officials accompanying Zhai Wenqing during the inspection looked shocked:
What is the identity of this homeless man?
It all started in 1951...
"Deserts" who returned to their hometown
In 1951, in Meilihe Village, Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia, a one-armed young man wearing the uniform of the People's Liberation Army appeared at the entrance of the village.
This young man’s name is Yu Shuilin, Meilihe Village is his hometown where he grew up.
Yu Shuilin carried his meager luggage with one hand and dragged his weak body slowly into the village. After a while, he arrived at the door of his house.
However, having been away from home for many years, the house in front of him had long since collapsed into a mound, looking extremely desolate.
At this time, the village chief heard that a People's Liberation Army was coming to the village, so he hurried over.
"Ah, you are Yu Shuilin, right? You're back!"
"Village chief, it's me, you still remember me!"
The village chief looked at the ruins in front of him, sighed and told Yu Shuilin that the house collapsed a few years ago, and the villagers thought he would never come back, so they didn't help repair it.
After that, the village chief comforted Yu Shuilin, touched his empty sleeve, and asked in surprise:
"Shui Lin? How did you do it? Why is this hand missing?"
Yu Shuilin was silent for a long time, and only said: "I became a deserter..."
Although the village chief has been busy in the village all year round, he also knows that wars have been going on everywhere in the past few years. Yu Shuilin must have suffered a lot outside, and he must have had his own difficulties as a deserter.
So he did not continue to ask, but took Yu Shuilin to a stable in the village:
"Shui Lin, I know you are suffering outside. Now your house has collapsed, and your hands are disabled and it is difficult to find a living.
You can live in the stable first and raise horses for the village horse farm."
Yu Shuilin was alone at this time and had no place to live. He was naturally grateful for this arrangement.
In the days after
, Yu Shuilin stayed in the village and was responsible for the horse breeding work at the racecourse.
Although he only has one hand, he is able to endure hardships and stand hard work. He gets up early every day to prepare feed for the horses and carefully checks the eating status of each horse.
On weekdays, other staff at the racecourse would go out to be lazy and wander around after their work, but he stayed in the stable every day and took good care of the horses.
The village chief saw that he was so dedicated to the horses, so he often took special care of him. He would bring him all the delicious food cooked at home. When the weather got cold in winter, he would find him several thick quilts to keep him warm.
Even so, the living conditions in the stables were still very poor. Under the feng shui and the sun, Yu Shuilin's originally rosy skin gradually turned dark and rough.
More than ten years later, he looked like a tramp: long beard, cloudy eyes, dirty and shabby cotton-padded jacket without any gauze...
People in the village gradually forgot his name, and whenever they mentioned him, they called him "tramp" directly.
A big shot comes to visit
One day in 1963, a prominent man came to the village. He was the army chief Zhai Wenqing.
Zhai Wenqing came to Inner Mongolia to inspect the work, and when he inspected Meilihe Village.
When he saw that the horses in the racecourse were all fat and strong, he couldn't help but ask the village chief:
"Old village chief, your horses are well raised! How do you feed them?"
Village Chief Hanxiao replied:
"I have no experience in raising horses. This is all due to Yu Shuilin!"
"Who, who did you just say? Say it again?"
Zhai Wenqing asked with a look of surprise.
When the village chief saw Zhai Wenqing's expression, he thought, maybe Yu Shuilin was a "deserter" back then, and the army has been trying to catch him, right?
Just when the village chief was nervous, Zhai Wenqing said again:
"I have a soldier named Yu Shuilin. He is a second-level combat hero. I have been looking for him these years."
Upon hearing this, the village chief immediately breathed a sigh of relief, but was also surprised at the same time, so he quickly led Zhai Wenqing toward the stable where Yu Shuilin lived.
While on the road, the village chief told Zhai Wenqing about Yu Shuilin's life experience. He told Zhai Wenqing that Yu Shuilin was from Beautiful Village.
Yu's family has been farming for generations. Yu Shuilin's parents are both honest farmers and have never left Beautiful Village in their lives.
However, the village was affected by war a few years ago, and Yu Shuilin's parents and brothers died in the war.
Yu Shuilin was only 10 years old at that time. He had lived alone in Yu's old house for several years.
As Yu Shuilin grew up, he followed the young people in the village to join the army. After that, he followed the army to fight everywhere, and did not return to Beautiful Village for many years.
It was not until 1951 that he returned to the village with a broken arm...
After listening to the village chief's description, Zhai Wenqing sighed repeatedly. They had been looking for Yu Shuilin all over the country for so many years, but they never thought that Yu Shuilin's hometown was actually this small mountain village in Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia. While
was talking, several people rushed to the stable where Yu Shuilin was.
Zhai Wenqing was stunned for a moment when he saw the messy environment in front of him, then he stepped forward and asked tentatively:
"Are you Yu Shuilin?"
Yu Shuilin was half-lying on the bed. When he heard someone calling his name, he immediately propped himself up with one hand and looked outside.
What came into view was a middle-aged man with an imposing figure and a military uniform. After Yu Shuilin looked into the visitor's eyes, he suddenly stood up:
"Instructor Zhai, it's Instructor Zhai? Why are you here? "
Zhai Wenqing looked at Yu Shuilin, who was covered in dirt, and tears burst into his eyes. He had been thinking about his soldier all these years, but he never imagined that he would be so miserable.
For a moment, the two looked at each other in silence for a long time. Suddenly Zhai Wenqing rushed forward and hugged Yu Shuilin tightly.
Yu Shuilin was worried that the stains on his body would stain the commander's clothes, so he stood there uneasy and motionless, not responding to Zhai Wenqing's hug.
"You boy, I have been looking for you for 12 years, but I didn't expect you to be hiding here!"
Everyone waiting nearby saw Zhai Wenqing being so affectionate towards Shuilin, and they couldn't help but murmur in their hearts:
Is this Yu Shuilin really a fighting hero? The country has always been kind to soldiers, so why did he become a homeless man raising horses?
Turned out to be a fighting hero
Looking at everyone's surprised look, Zhai Wenqing talked about the experience of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea .
In October 1950, the Party Central Committee issued an order to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea. Peng Dehuai led the volunteer army to the Korean battlefield in a mighty manner. Zhai Wenqing and Yu Shuilin were two of the volunteers.
On the Korean battlefield where guns and artillery were blind, batch after batch of volunteers fell in a pool of blood. The brutality of the battle was shocking.
Yu Shuilin followed the large army and fought all the way, repelling the enemy's attacks again and again.
At 4 pm on February 11, 1951, the 3rd Battalion of the 352nd Regiment, where Yu Shuilin was located, was ordered to wait in the Gucun area to ambush the enemies fleeing from the northeast.
At around ten o'clock in the evening, all the soldiers were lurking on the hillside attentively, observing the movements in the northeast.
At this moment, the sound of a rumbling motor suddenly came from the southwest.
Immediately afterwards, a military jeep appeared in everyone's field of vision, followed by more than a hundred large trucks , full of American troops. Zhang Yucai, commander of the
3 battalion, judged through observation and concluded that this was the 1st Battalion, the howitzer battalion and the anti-aircraft artillery company of the US 2nd Division. They passed here probably to support the fleeing enemy troops.
The situation was urgent. Zhang Yucai believed that they must not be allowed to pass smoothly, so he issued an order to stop the enemy with all his strength.
The 8th Company, where Yu Shuilin was located, was ordered to intercept the US military convoy head-on. They stared closely at the enemy at the foot of the mountain, and when the convoy approached, they threw out hand grenades one by one.
The U.S. military, which had been prepared beforehand, was stunned by grenades falling from the sky. Several vehicles were instantly paralyzed on the road.
After a period of riot, the US military immediately restored its combat readiness and began to engage in fierce exchanges of fire with our army.
In order to rush over as quickly as possible, the tanks from the rear of the U.S. Army came towards our 8th Company. They attempted to defeat the volunteers blocking the front through their weapon superiority.
At that time, our army's armaments were relatively backward. If the tanks were allowed to drive over, it is estimated that the entire 8th company's soldiers would be sacrificed.
At the critical moment, Yu Shuilin went to the squad leader and said: "Squad leader, let me blow up those iron bumps !"
The squad leader glanced at the approaching tanks, and without having time to think too much, he agreed to Yu Shuilin's request.
Soon, Yu Shuilin ran out like a monkey with an anti-tank grenade on his back.
He quickly climbed over the trench, dodging enemy bullets while rushing towards the tank. After
ran to the side of the first tank, Yu Shuilin crawled on the ground, pulled out the grenade, and threw it directly into the tracks of the tank. The tank stopped with a "boom".
After the tank was attacked, the US military sitting inside stuck out his head and prepared to shoot to kill Yu Shuilin. Fortunately, several soldiers covering Yu Shuilin quickly opened fire and killed these American soldiers.
At this time, Yu Shuilin had already rushed towards the second tank, but the tanker of this tank discovered Yu Shuilin, so he fired wildly at him.
Yu Shuilin dodged around, but the tankman bit him tightly and wouldn't let go.
Yu Shuilin knew that he would be shot sooner or later if he continued like this, so he rushed towards the tank.
Fortunately, the bullets fired from the tank did not hit him. He came to the tank smoothly and stuffed the grenade into the tank's tracks. The tank also stopped with the explosion.
In order to suppress the American troops in the tank, Yu Shuilin jumped to the top of the tank, pulled out a grenade and threw it into the tank cockpit.
Since the reaction time of the grenade at that time was slightly long, Yu Shuilin was worried that the US military would throw it out again, so he delayed throwing it in for a few seconds.
only heard a loud "bang" sound, and the tank was completely paralyzed halfway.
However, Yu Shuilin's right arm was also injured by the exploding shrapnel, and blood flowed down the sleeve.
When the soldiers responsible for covering saw that Yu Shuilin was injured, they immediately rushed forward.
The American troops charging ahead saw that the situation was not right and immediately ran away in the opposite direction.
After the battle, Yu Shuilin escorted the eight fleeing American troops back to our army's position. When the soldiers saw that he was still so brave even though his arm was injured, they all praised him for his strength.
Yu Shuilin then remembered that his arm was injured, and at the same time a sharp pain hit him, and he suddenly fainted.
The soldiers quickly helped Yu Shuilin up and sent him to the rear hospital for treatment.
After consultation, the doctor said that Yu Shuilin's arm had delayed the best opportunity for treatment and could no longer be saved. The only option was amputation.
The operation went smoothly and Yu Shuilin was out of danger, but his sleeve became empty.
Did not want to drag down the army
3 battalion instructor Zhai Wenqing was also in the rear hospital at the time. He learned that Yu Shuilin's arm was injured due to the bombing of a tank, and immediately applied for a commendation from his superiors.
A few days later, Yu Shuilin woke up from his coma. He instinctively looked at his empty arms, and his eyes instantly became dim.
At this time, Zhai Wenqing walked to his hospital bed and told him that he had won the first-class merit this time and was awarded the "Level 2 Combat Hero" title by the headquarters.
As soon as Yu Shuilin heard that he had done meritorious service, he felt energetic again. He said excitedly:
"What does this mean? I will do more meritorious deeds in the future. When I get better, I will return to the third camp!"
Zhai Wenqing was silent for a moment. , said calmly:
"You are so seriously injured, don't go to the front line again in the future. Your superiors have assigned you a civilian position in the rear, which is a management post."
Yu Shuilin became depressed again when he heard this. He knew that such a transfer was a promotion, but he didn't want to be a civilian, he just wanted to go to the front line to kill the enemy.
And in his opinion, the civilian position assigned to him by the army was actually to take care of him. He did not want to be a burden to the army, so he decided to leave quietly.
That night, Yu Shuilin took advantage of everyone's rest, took a few belongings, left the rear hospital where he was recovering from his injuries, and embarked on the road back home.
Early the next morning, Zhai Wenqing went to the hospital to visit Yu Shuilin, but found that the hospital bed was already empty. He asked everywhere, but no one knew where Yu Shuilin had gone.
The fighting was still going on at that time. Zhai Wenqing still had a lot of work to deal with, so he had to continue marching with the large army.
Later, the war ended and Zhai Wenqing returned to China. He still did not forget the soldier Yu Shuilin.
He heard from the soldiers that Yu Shuilin seemed to be from Rehe , so he sent people to Rehe to inquire and find him.
However, after searching all over Rehe, there was no trace of Yu Shuilin.
After many years, Zhai Wenqing was promoted many times in the army, but every time he was promoted, he would think of Yu Shuilin, who had achieved military exploits.
He never imagined that the soldier he had been looking for would actually live in seclusion in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia for 12 years.
After hearing what he said, the village chief and everyone sighed that it was really pitiful that a fighting hero like Yu Shuilin had suffered silently for so many years.
Unexpectedly, Yu Shuilin said indifferently:
"So many soldiers died on the Korean battlefield. I just broke an arm. There is nothing to show off."
Hearing this, Zhai Wenqing's eyes turned red again. In his memory, Yu Shuilin should only be 38 years old, but the person in front of him looked like an elderly man in his fifties.
While he asked the village chief to take good care of Yu Shuilin, he contacted the local government and applied to restore the veterans' treatment that Yu Shuilin should enjoy.
Stay true to your original aspiration and spend your remaining years peacefully
With the help of Zhai Wenqing, the local government built a new house for Yu Shuilin and provided him with a monthly living allowance.
After settling in, Zhai Wenqing invited Yu Shuilin to come back to the army to have a look, and also asked him to give a speech to the new recruits.
Yu Shuilin had been away from the army for many years and missed his comrades very much, so he agreed to Zhai Wenqing to return to the army to visit, but he declined because of the speech.
After word spread that Yu Shuilin was a fighting hero, the matchmakers in the village immediately came to ask for a match for Yu Shuilin.
Yu Shuilin thought that he was disabled and worried that no girl would be willing to marry him.
Unexpectedly, after the matchmaker told his situation, several girls were willing to live with Yu Shuilin.
Considering his own situation, Yu Shuilin finally chose a girl with eye disease and got married to her.
Zhai Wenqing was very happy when he heard about this and immediately said that he would personally organize the wedding for Yu Shuilin.
So on the wedding day, Zhai Wenqing took Yu Shuilin and the bride to the army, and held a grand wedding for the young couple in accordance with the army's standards.
After getting married, Yu Shuilin chose to stay in his hometown and continue to be responsible for raising horses in the village. His wife was also very supportive of this.
For many years after that, his wife took good care of Yu Shuilin, and Zhai Wenqing also made several special trips to Inner Mongolia to visit this fighting hero.
What pleased Zhai Wenqing was that Yu Shuilin lived a happy life after getting married and looked much younger than when she first found him.
At this point, Zhai Wenqing finally put an end to his worries for many years.
Conclusion
Yu Shuilin, as an old hero who resisted U.S. aggression and aided Korea, was unfortunately wounded when he bravely killed the enemy on the battlefield. He should have enjoyed state subsidies, but he chose to retire to his hometown to avoid burdening the country. After
returned to the life of ordinary people, he still stuck to his position conscientiously and did his job extremely well with one arm. This quality is really admirable.
When the matter is over, he brushes off his clothes and goes away, hiding his body and name. Revolutionary predecessors like Yu Shuilin are always worthy of our learning and praise!
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-