Because Chen Xilian was the founding general who came out of the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army and was brought out by Xu Xiangqian, it was most appropriate for him to attend the unveiling ceremony of the bronze statue of the old leader.

In 1994, the bronze statue of Marshal Xu Xiangqian was completed in Taiyuan, Shanxi. The Military Commission decided to send Chen Xilian to Shanxi to attend the unveiling ceremony of the bronze statue. Because Chen Xilian was the founding general of the Red Fourth Front Army and was brought out by Xu Xiangqian, it was most appropriate for him to attend the unveiling ceremony of the bronze statue of the old leader.

Bronze Statue of Marshal Xu Xiangqian

However, Chen Xilian was already 80 years old this year and was not in very good health. Some people advised him, "It's better not to go and let the Military Commission appoint someone else."

General Chen Xilian

Chen Xilian shook his head and said : "During the war years, Xu Shuai saved my life. Today, I am going to take part in this life even if I have this old fate!"

There is another allusion to talk about Xu Shuai saving Chen Xilian's life. In 1929, Chen Xilian joined the Red Army in 1929 when he was just 14 years old. Although he was young, he had a lot of energy in fighting and was always at the forefront. The army leaders were very satisfied with him.

Chen Xilian

At that time, Chen Xilian's squad leader was Sun Yuqing (later Commander of the Ninth Red Army, died in the Western Expedition), who was 6 years older than Chen Xilian. As the big brother, Sun Yuqing cared a lot about Chen Xilian, and Chen Xilian was just a child. It is inevitable to be afraid when participating in a battle. Sun Yuqing said to him kindly: "Xiao Chen, don't be afraid, follow me, follow my example and rush forward." In this way, Chen Xilian was in this positive, hard-working and enterprising atmosphere. It gradually grows.

Sun Yuqing

One day in the summer of 1932, Chen Xilian saw the former squad leader Sun Yuqing on the street. He was very happy, so he called the soldiers from the previous squad and wanted to take this opportunity to catch up with the old squad leader. It's not an option to have a group of people on the street. You have to find a place to sit down and chat slowly. So, Chen Xilian and everyone else pooled some money, found a snack bar on the street, and bought some fried cakes and chicken blood soup. These were delicacies at that time. You could take a bite of each other, not to mention how delicious it was. .
But there were many people on the street, and I don’t know which soldier saw this scene, and it spread to Zhang Guotao’s ears.

Zhang Guotao

Zhang Guotao came to the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Border Region in 1931. Zhang Guotao knew that he was an "airborne leader" and was eager to establish prestige in the border region. In the name of rectifying the atmosphere and cleaning up traitors, he expanded the suppression of counterrevolutionaries and eradicated them. Dissidents, practicing paternalistic dictatorship, and "labeling" anyone who doesn't listen to him, have many names, such as "rightist", "eating and drinking", "conspiracy", "AB group", etc., as long as they stick to it, It's basically death, and the method is extremely cruel. Leaders of the Fourth Front Army such as Zeng Zhongsheng and Xu Jishen were killed in this way. Even Xu Xiangqian's wife Cheng Xunxuan was captured and killed by him.

In this way, Chen Xilian and a class of soldiers were labeled as "eating and drinking style" and said that they were the "eating and drinking committee". As the squad leader, Chen Xilian had to bear more responsibility. He was arrested by the Security Bureau and was about to behead him.

At that time, Xu Xiangqian was already the commander-in-chief of the front army. He had heard of the name Chen Xilian and said that he was a brave young man in combat. Xu Xiangqian also felt that it was hard to bear such a big crime for just eating, so he said to Zhang Guotao: "A few brats, their families are poor, they come out to engage in revolution. They just buy a few cakes to eat when they are hungry..." Zhang Guotao heard this and Let Chen Xilian go.

Xu Xiangqian

Due to Xu Xiangqian's protection, Chen Xilian and his comrades escaped. Because of this, Chen Xilian has always regarded Xu Xiangqian as his lifesaver.

So, there was the previous scene.

Later, Chen Xilian completely grew into a brave and capable general in the Red Army. At the age of 18, he became the political commissar of the Red Army. Later, he was promoted to division commander, corps commander, and military region commander. He also once presided over the daily routine of the Central Military Commission. Work.