On the afternoon of October 22, 1985, the Nanjing Military Region Command Office suddenly received an emergency call: "Commander Xu Shiyou's full efforts to rescue him was ineffective due to illness and died in the military region hospital..." Secretary Wang was very shocked when he received the call. He had no time to react and quickly passed the above content to the military region leader and the old leader who had retreated to the second and third lines.
Who would have thought that just 4 minutes later, another phone on the table rang again. Secretary Wang took the phone and what the other party said surprised him: "I just called the wrong thing, don't report what happened just now to the military district chief..."
So what's going on?
Chairman Mao changed the name of Xu Shiyou
Xu Shiyou was born in 1905 in a poor peasant family in Xinxian County, Henan Province. His parents gave birth to four sons and one daughter, and Xu Shiyou ranked third. The Xu family has a family tree, and by his generation, he is the "Shi" generation, so he was named "Xu Shiyou".
The Xu family’s conditions are not very good, and there are many children, so the parents are under great pressure. When he was a child, Xu Shiyou was very sensible. In order not to let his parents bear so much pressure, he took the initiative to go to , Shaolin Temple, Songshan, Henan, as a mailman and practice martial arts in his free time. During his eight years as a scholastic man, he learned swords, guns, sticks, and developed a good martial arts skills. He set the ambition of "to defeat all the injustices in the world in the future" .
Soon after, Xu Shiyou proposed to his master the idea of joining the army. He felt that only by joining the army could he be reimbursed the motherland, and the most important thing was that there was still food to eat. The master knew that he had been "champagne and righteous" during his visit to his relatives, and injured two people in one punch and one kick, so he agreed to leave Shaolin Temple so that he could avoid the limelight. In this way, Xu Shiyou came to Luoyang and became a "boy scout" under the warlord Wu Peifu .
During his time in the army, Xu Shiyou, who was young and irritable, was often bullied by veterans. In anger, he kicked and killed a veteran who slapped him. Xu Shiyou knew that if he continued to stay here, the army would definitely not let him go, so he fled to another army.
However, as he grew older, Xu Shiyou's temper became more restrained and restrained. In addition, he was brave in fighting and rushed hard. Therefore, not long after, he was promoted to squad leader and deputy squad leader, not long after, he was promoted to platoon leader.
In October 1926, the Beiyang warlord where Xu Shiyou was located announced an uprising, and was later incorporated by Northern Expedition Army . Xu Shiyou also changed from a platoon leader to a company commander in the First Division of the National Revolutionary Army. The second year, he joined the Communist Party under the introduction of two fellow villagers. It was also from this time that he decided to follow the Communist Party for the rest of his life.
On April 12, 1927, Chiang Kai-shek launched the "April 12 Counter-Revolutionary Coup" that shocked China and the world. Xu Shiyou could not bear Chiang Kai-shek's excessive behavior, so he angrily left the National Revolutionary Army and then defected to the Red Army. During the Red First Army, Xu Shiyou understood a lot of revolutionary principles and knew that the "Shi" in his name meant "official", so he changed his name to Xu Shiyou, which means the friend of the soldiers.
On the Long March route, Xu Shiyou was promoted to the commander of the Red Fourth Army . At a senior cadre meeting, he met the highest commander of the Red Army who had long been admired by Daming for the first time. When he reported his name to Chairman Mao, Chairman Mao said happily: "I have heard of your name, but I have not been able to meet him for a long time. Now I have seen you!"
Chairman Mao paused and continued, "Scholars, fellow soldiers, you can't just be friends of the soldiers, but also be friends of China, friends of the whole world!" In this way, Chairman Mao gave him the name "Xu Shiyou" and has been using it for life.
Later, Xu Shiyou also said in a conversation with his children: "You may not know yet. My name was given to me by Chairman Mao himself!"
In July 1936, when Red Fourth Front Army later, Xu Shiyou commanded the newly formed cavalry unit to take on the important task of reconnaissance and raising food and grass, creating very favorable conditions for the large army to successfully pass the grassland.
In October 1938, Xu Shiyou served as the deputy brigade commander of the 386th Brigade of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, and participated in the establishment of the anti-Japanese pattern in southern Hebei. At the end of this year, Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping led the 129th Division to advance into southern Hebei.
In September 1940, Xu Shiyou was transferred to the Shandong Column as the brigade commander of the third company, and then led his troops and the Japanese and puppet troops to launch fierce battles on the shore of the Bohai Sea and on both sides of the Qinghe River. In July 1941, after winning the anti-stubborn battle in Jiaodong, the situation in Jiaodong gradually improved, and Xu Shiyou led his troops back to the Qinghe area.
On September 16, 1948, with the order of Xu Shiyou, the soldiers officially launched a general attack on Jinan. As soon as the order was issued, bad news came one after another:
was on the eastern front, and the Ninth Column, one of the Ninth Column launched attacks on Jinan many times, but none of them were captured, and their own casualties were also very large;
was on the western front, and the two battalions of the Thirteenth Column had no results in siege for several days. After a fierce battle with the enemy, the casualties were extremely heavy;
, although the remaining columns repeatedly attacked and annihilated a large number of enemy troops, they were still unable to open the gap.
At the same time, Chiang Kai-shek also sent a large number of planes and cannons to bomb our siege troops day and night, and only a few of our more than 100,000 troops were bombed.
Xu Shiyou was very angry when he learned about these situations, but he was not panicked, but calmly discussed countermeasures with other generals. After a brief discussion, Xu Shiyou stood up to the public and decisively ordered the soldiers to continue fighting. He said:
"Although there are many difficulties in front of us now, the troops have fought for seven days and nights without rest, but if the attack is stopped now and the soldiers are allowed to rest, it will only give the enemy the chance to defeat us. The troops are in the passive stage and we cannot give up first. Now it is the time to compare perseverance, tenacity, and stamina. Victory is often in the last 5 minutes. Whoever can persist will win!"
His words encouraged the majority of soldiers and their morale increased greatly. As a result, troops rushed into Jinan City that night. After two days of fierce battle, our army completely occupied Jinan City.
Jinan Battle is also the most proud battle in Xu Shiyou's military career, and it successfully reflects the brave style he always advocates. Someone once said: "Currence is a requirement for combatants or tactical commanders. For an excellent battle commander like Xu Shiyou, you should focus more on strategy."
But Chairman Mao, as a great strategist, does not think so. He said: "You can also use a scoundrel to kill a chicken. Sometimes it is still 'the brave will win when we meet on a narrow road'!" This is also another high evaluation of Xu Shiyou by Chairman Mao.
Xu Shiyou was suffering from cancer, but he was unwilling to go to Beijing for treatment
In his later years, Xu Shiyou's physical condition was getting worse and worse, but he himself disagreed. He often said, "I have a clear mind, my hands and feet are flexible, and I don't have any serious illnesses. Don't worry about me!" In desperation, the central government had to send a nurse to take care of Xu Shiyou's life in his later years.
On this day, the staff found a health nurse named Gu Jinping and said to her, "The superior decided to transfer you to Commander Xu to do health care work." Gu Jinping was shocked after hearing this, because she knew that Xu Shiyou had a bad temper and loved to teach people a lesson, so she said, "Can I not go? I'm a little scared..."
staff shook his head and said, "I'm afraid there are some difficulties. This is decided by the above." Despite this, Gu Jinping was still afraid, and later the matter was reflected to Chief of Staff Zhou Deli.Zhou Deli personally found Gu Jinping and did her ideological work:
"Xiao Gu, after research, we still think that you will work with Commander Xu. Although his temper is not very good, he loves his subordinates very much. Don't worry that he will scold you. As long as you have not done anything wrong, he will still be easy to get along with. Let's do this. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, you can ask me to solve them. Is this OK?"
Zhou Deli said earnestly to Gu Jinping, which made her put down her burden and report to Xu Shiyou.
Xu Shiyou heard that this little girl was unwilling to work by her side. The first thing she said when she saw Gu Jinping was: "Xiao Gu, although your surname is Gu, you can't worry so much. Don't worry if you work by my side. I, Xu Shiyou, are not a tiger, and you won't eat people!" Xu Shiyou's humorous words instantly made Gu Jinping let go of her worries and work with him with peace of mind.
At noon that day, in order to welcome Gu Jinping to work by her side, Xu Shiyou also specially held a banquet and served a bottle of Moutai liquor . Xu Shiyou asked Gu Jinping to drink two glasses with her. She said, "Commander, let alone white wine, I have never even drunk beer."
Xu Shiyou smiled and said, "It's okay, just drink a little, it can be regarded as fulfilling my friendship as a landlord!" Seeing Xu Shiyou so approachable, Gu Jinping took the wine glass from his hand and took a bold move to drink a cup of Maotai.
Xu Shiyou immediately stretched out his thumb and said, "Good, good, good!" Later, Xu Shiyou's health became worse and worse. According to the doctor's advice, he could not drink anymore. In this way, Gu Jinping, as a health nurse, has greater responsibility.
Whenever Gu Jinping finds that Xu Shiyou is drinking, she will stop her strictly, but how could Xu Shiyou, who has always been addicted to alcohol, listen to her advice? For this reason, the two often had unhappiness. Sometimes Xu Shiyou would secretly hide the wine in the bathroom and then go to the bathroom to drink when Gu Jinping was not paying attention.
Once, Gu Jinping found that Xu Shiyou was hiding a bottle of Moutai in his yukata in the bathroom, so she secretly took it away. When Xu Shiyou was about to come to the bathroom to drink, he found that he had disappeared and immediately became angry: "You are so brave, you dare to take my wine!" Gu Jinping knew that when Xu Shiyou was angry, he couldn't listen to anyone's words, so he stayed in the house and didn't go out.
On the eve of the Spring Festival in 1985, Xu Shiyou felt constant abdominal pain, but he thought nothing big, so he gritted his teeth and passed it over. Not only that, he also refused to let Gu Jinping and other staff tell his family members to avoid everyone thinking that his health is getting worse and worse.
One day in March, Xu Shiyou went to East China Hospital for a physical examination under the arrangement of the staff. He didn't know if he didn't check it, and he was shocked when he checked it. It turns out that Xu Shiyou's alpha-fetoglobulin test result is very high, which is more than 40 times higher than the normal value. This also proves that Xu Shiyou's physical condition is indeed not optimistic.
The medical level of East China Hospital is second to none in Shanghai, and the hospital is also very concerned about Xu Shiyou's situation. Given that Xu Shiyou often drinks alcohol and has a history of cirrhosis and , liver loss is particularly serious, it is difficult for experts to obtain unified opinions on this.
Two months later, the Nanjing Military Region General Hospital conducted a physical examination on Xu Shiyou and finally concluded: "Except for cirrhosis, no cancer was found." After learning about this result, Xu Shiyou's family and the staff around him breathed a sigh of relief.
However, as the examination became more and more advanced, the doctors gradually discovered that Xu Shiyou had the possibility of cancer. In order to make a clear diagnosis, he needed to go to the General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army for further examination. But everyone knows that Xu Shiyou has a bad temper, and they dare not tell Xu Shiyou himself about this result, and then decided to report it to Nie Fengzhi first, and Nie Fengzhi will report it to Xu Shiyou.
Not long after, Nie Fengzhi and his wife He Ming came to Xu Shiyou's residence. As soon as Nie Fengzhi saw Xu Shiyou, he asked, "How are you doing recently?" Xu Shiyou smiled and said, "It's pretty good, nothing is wrong."When Nie Fengzhi saw this, he had to say tactfully: "Didn't you go for a physical examination not long ago? The report came out, saying that it was a liver problem, and it was very likely that it was cirrhosis..."
Xu Shiyou nodded, without saying anything, and there was neither a surprised or worried expression on his face, which also made Nie Fengzhi very panicked. Then Nie Fengzhi said: "Commander, why don't you go to Beijing 301 Hospital for a check-up, so that you can feel more at ease. "
Who would have thought that Xu Shiyou said excitedly: "I won't go to Beijing, I won't go to Beijing for treatment! "Next no matter what Nie Fengzhi said, Xu Shiyou still said "Don't go".
On September 30, 1985, Xu Shiyou's condition worsened, he was unconscious all day long, and even had incontinence. These are one of the most obvious symptoms of patients with liver cancer in . It is obvious that Xu Shiyou's health is getting worse and worse.
Given that Xu Shiyou's condition gradually deteriorates, and the medical conditions at No. 8 of Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum were not very good, so the medical staff decided to send Xu Shiyou to the hospital for emergency treatment. After being admitted to the hospital, Xu Shiyou was arranged in a large ward in ward 8 of the hospital. The medical staff did their best to treat liver coma.
In the middle of the night, Xu Shiyou, who had been in a coma for a long time, finally woke up, thinking that he would lose his temper after waking up. Who would have thought that he just looked around and closed his eyes. Since then, Xu Shiyou has been in a coma, and his wife Tian Pu and the children take turns to stay by his side.
Nanjing Military Region received a call: Commander Xu passed away, and 4 minutes later said: I called the wrong
When Xu Shiyou was seriously ill, the Party Central Committee and the Military Commission It is very related to his health, and he often calls to inquire and sends people to Nanjing to visit. Yang Shangkun, then vice chairman of the Military Commission, went to Nanjing to visit Xu Shiyou in person, but unfortunately, Xu Shiyou is still in a coma.
When Yang Shangkun came to Xu Shiyou's bedside, the staff came to Xu Shiyou's ear and said loudly: "Commander Xu, Vice Chairman Yang Shangkun of the Military Commission is specially coming to visit you from Beijing! I am here to visit you on behalf of Chairman Deng Xiaoping! " Xu Shiyou still closed his eyes tightly, without any reaction.
After the staff called several times, Xu Shiyou made a "gurgling" sound in his throat. Just when everyone thought Xu Shiyou would not wake up, he opened his eyes and saw Yang Shangkun appear beside his bed. His head moved slightly, as if we were welcoming Yang Shangkun...
From then on, Xu Shiyou's condition took a sharp turn for the worse. Various clinical and observations showed that all his important organs were at a time of severe failure.
On October 20, 1985, the medical team had to issue an "emergency warning" in the "Comrade Xu Shiyou's condition report". On the afternoon of October 22, Xu Shiyou was in a coma for two days and two nights, but no Any reaction.
At 16:57 pm that day, Xu Shiyou died of illness at the age of 80.
It is worth mentioning that a "small accident" occurred before Xu Shiyou's death. So what's going on?
More than an hour before Xu Shiyou's death, that is, at around 3 o'clock, Secretary Wang from the Nanjing Military Region Command Office suddenly received an emergency call. The call was made by Huang Zheng, director of the Military Region Health Office. Secretary Wang received the call and before he could ask what was going on, Huang Zheng hurriedly said: "Not good, Commander Xu has passed away! "
Secretary Wang was stunned in the spot. He couldn't believe that Xu Shiyou had left. After putting down the phone, Secretary Wang called the military region leader and the old military region leader who had retired to the second and third lines to report the bad news.
However, just 4 minutes later, another phone on Secretary Wang's desk rang again, and it was Huang Zheng who called. Huang Zheng said helplessly: "I just called the wrong thing. Commander Xu has recovered his heartbeat after rescue. Don't report what happened just now to the military region leader..."
Secretary Wang was speechless for a moment, and then said: "I have reported to several military region leaders, so I'll call to correct the report just now. "However, the heads of military regions who had received a call from Secretary Wang were already on their way to the General Hospital of the Military Region.
At this time, Xu Shiyou's ward was crowded with people. In front of Xu Shiyou's window, there were his old comrades, commander of Nanjing Military Region, , Xiang Shouzhi and political commissar Fu Kuiqing. Everyone frowned, looking forward to the miracle being discovered, but the next result disappointed everyone: Xu Shiyou's heart monitor turned into a straight line.
"Farewell forever, my friend!" When Tian Pu's sad voice sounded, everyone could no longer control their emotions and shed tears of sadness.
After Xu Shiyou's death, newspapers and radio stations across the country and provinces published "Obituaries" published in the name of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Central Advisory Committee , and the Central Military Commission. Since Xu Shiyou came to Nanjing in 1980, he has rarely appeared in everyone's sight, so many people have listened to and read the "Obituary".
Next, we will discuss whether Xu Shiyou's body is cremated or buried? At that time, the Standing Committee of the Nanjing Military Region Party Committee was in a very difficult situation, because before Xu Shiyou passed away, he asked for burial, but the country advocated cremation... However, the leaders of the Nanjing Military Region still felt that they should do the same as the deceased's last wish, so they put forward the request to transport the body back to their hometown to bury it in the request submitted to the central government.
When Yang Shangkun, who was in charge of the Standing Committee of the Central Military Commission at that time, saw this report, he gave three instructions on Xu Shiyou's funeral:
First, entrust the Nanjing Military Region to handle the funeral, and the Military Commission will send people there at that time;
Second, the memorial service will not be held, and bid farewell to the body, with the same specifications as Xiao Hua;
Third, ask the Nanjing Military Region organizer to write the first draft in his life, and after writing it, it will be given to the Military Commission for review.
Immediately afterwards, the General Office of the Central Committee sent the relevant regulations reviewed by Deng Xiaoping to the Nanjing Military Region:
First, mourning in accordance with the specifications of the leaders of the Party and the state;
Second, funeral committee is not established, and a funeral office is established;
Third, memorial service is not held, but farewell ceremony to the body must be held;
Fourth, funeral work is undertaken by the Nanjing Military Region, and Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee assists in handling.
Among these instructions and decisions, none of them involves the body, whether it is cremation or burial. So did Xu Shiyou implement burial or burial?
As we all know, Xu Shiyou is a filial son. He left his hometown to serve in the army at a young age, so he rarely has time to be with his mother. When Xu Shiyou returned to his hometown 20 years later, he knelt in front of her when he saw his mother and cried: "Mom, I'm sorry for you. I've let you suffer for so long. I'm sorry for you..."
In order to fulfill his filial piety, Xu Shiyou decided to take his mother to the city to live. Who would have thought that the old lady was used to living in the countryside and felt uncomfortable everywhere in the city. Xu Shiyou had no choice but to send his mother back to his hometown in Dabie Mountains, but in order to take care of his mother, he decided to transfer his son Xu Guang, who had already been the chief of the ship in a ship in the North Sea Fleet, back home to work.
Xu Guang has no regrets about his father's decision. He said: "This tradition has existed for thousands of years in China. You raise me and I support you in old age. If your father wants to serve the motherland, then I will fulfill my filial piety for my father, which is also considered to be filial to myself. This is a matter of course."
Not long after, Xu's mother passed away. Xu Shiyou knelt in front of his mother's grave, crying and swore: "Mom, I have a dilemma of loyalty and filial piety. I was unable to serve you when you were alive. After I die, I must guard the grave for you!"
Xu Shiyou stubbornly believed: "To guard the grave, you must bury the body, otherwise it will turn into ashes and turn into smoke. How can you guard the grave?" This is also the only reason why Xu Shiyou insisted on burying the land. Therefore, when Chairman Mao and other national leaders signed the "Initiative" for the implementation of cremation, he did not sign it.
In order to solve the problem of whether Xu Shiyou was burial or cremation, Nanjing delivered the report to Deng Xiaoping's table. Deng Xiaoping and Xu Shiyou are old comrades-in-arms. They have been together for decades, and he is also the one who knows Xu Shiyou's temper best.At this moment, what impact will it have if Xu Shiyou is allowed to bury him? But if it is not allowed, there is only one Xu Shiyou in the world!
Deng Xiaoping believes that Xu Shiyou is Xu Shiyou after all, and there is only one in the country, and it is one that cannot be explained clearly in the opinion of ordinary people. Therefore, Deng Xiaoping expressed his understanding and tolerance of Xu Shiyou's last wishes, and wrote eight big words "As long as you do, I won't be an example" on the report.
On the morning of October 26, the leaders of the Nanjing Military Region received an instruction issued by Deng Xiaoping himself, allowing Xu Shiyou to be buried. On October 31, after the farewell ceremony for Xu Shiyou's body was held, the staff began to prepare for the escort of the coffin to Dabie Mountains.
At midnight on November 8, with the order of the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Nanjing Military Region, who was responsible for escorting the coffin, the convoy drove towards Dabie Mountains . Xu Shiyou's tomb was not decorated at first, and it was not until a year later that there was a tombstone with the words "Tomb of Comrade Xu Shiyou"...
