In 1952, the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea came to an end. Although Xu Shiyou, commander of the Shandong Military Region, did not enter North Korea to fight, Shandong is very close to the Korean Peninsula, and he needs to always beware of the landing of United Nations troops from Shandong. In addition, Xu Shiyou also needs to provide a large amount of logistical support for the fraternal troops fighting in North Korea. On the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival this year, Xu Shiyou finally took time to go back to his hometown to visit his mother.
In the blink of an eye, it has been more than 20 years since Xu Shiyou left his hometown. General Xu misses his hometown and his mother more and more. He asked for leave many times and was finally approved by the Central Military Commission.
Before leaving, Xu Shiyou specifically told the staff to bring two cooks and enough savings. This is not Xu Shiyou's intention to show off. When I started to make revolution in my hometown, I received a lot of help from my fellow villagers. How many villagers died in the revolution. Xu Shiyou said: "We sincerely mourn the dead comrades and express condolences to the folks who contributed to the revolution."
The success of the revolution is not only the result of these red generals, but also the thousands of martyrs who sacrificed their lives, as well as the folks who have always supported them. Xu Shiyou is a descendant of the Dabie Mountains. In such an old red area, there are countless families of martyrs. When Xu Shiyou returned to his hometown after the victory of the revolution, he must give sufficient care to the villagers and let the villagers feel the joy of the victory of the revolution together.
Two Soviet-style jeeps carried General Xu Shiyou and his entourage, driving all the way to the depths of the Dabie Mountains. After driving deep into the mountains and forests, the car could no longer move forward. Xu Shiyou then changed his horse and rode forward.
Horseback riding is no stranger to Xu Shiyou. He was the cavalry commander during the Red Army Twenty-five Thousand Miles Long March. So he whipped his horse and whipped his horse and walked for about four hours until he came to a cemetery of martyrs. There were a total of 18 brothers in this village who participated in the revolution with Xu Shiyou, and 17 of them died on the battlefield. The bodies of five of them were buried here. Only Xu Shiyou survived after many battles.
Stars have changed, the world has changed, and we have been separated for more than thirty years. When he returned to his hometown today, he first came to the tombs of the five brothers and gave them a solemn military salute one by one. After that, he added a few handfuls of loess to each of the five tombs and stood there for a moment with tears streaming down his face. When leaving, he said to his staff and fellow villagers, "After a hundred years, I will also return to my roots and return to my hometown to accompany these good brothers."
When he pulled his horse and walked slowly down the hillside, Xujiawa had already come into view. Looking up, he saw an old lady at the head of the village setting up a canopy and sizing up the visitors from afar.
This old lady is none other than Xu Shiyou’s mother. She was dressed in tatters, with gray messy hair swaying in front of her sharp forehead. Although she wore a pair of torn cotton shoes on her feet, there were no socks, exposing her limbs and backs that had been deformed and chapped due to bandaging. She also carried a bundle of firewood on her extremely curved back.
This old woman was Xu Shiyou’s mother. Xu Shiyou walked up to her, but he didn’t dare to admit it. I haven’t seen her for 20 years, and my mother has aged too much. The general felt as if his five-flavor bottle had been knocked over. He quickly ran over, took the firewood, and immediately knelt down in front of his mother: "Mom, you are still going up the mountain to chop firewood at such an old age. I feel really sad!" It’s not only your mother’s credit, but also the folks who protected you during the war, the leaders of the army, and the soldiers under your command—if those soldiers didn’t risk their lives and rush forward, could you have won the war? "The mother continued, "Don't kneel down to me anymore. There are still many people who need your gratitude! "
The villagers of Xujiawa had already heard the news that General Xu Shiyou was going home to visit relatives. Everyone rushed to the entrance of the village, hoping to catch a glimpse of the general who came out of the Dabie Mountains as soon as possible.
Xu Shiyou set up several large pots in his yard, killed a pig and several sheep, and held a banquet to comfort the villagers.There was a long queue of villagers who came to eat, and the queue stretched as far as three miles away. The villagers rushed to see Xu Shiyou, but Xu Shiyou stood in the yard, shaking hands, drinking and chatting with every villager who came in.
Suddenly, Xu Shiyou saw a person in the crowd who looked panicked and frowned. He looked out of place with the beaming villagers around him. As soon as he saw this person, Xu Shiyou put away the enthusiasm on his face, his eyes were on fire, and he walked straight over. This person is Xu Shiyou's uncle, named Xu Cunli.
During the war years, Xu Cunli did a lot of evil things. At that time, Xu Cunli was the security guard for the villagers in Huixiang, and he did all kinds of evil to the people in the four townships. Xu Shiyou actively participated in the revolution and became the death-defying captain of the Peasants' Association with the help of his sword. There is no doubt that Xu Cunli was the target of the Peasants' Association's attack, and the uncle and nephew were on opposite sides.
After the failure of the Great Revolution , Xu Shiyou followed the team to the mountains to fight guerrillas, while his mother and three younger sisters stayed at home. Xu Cunli actually negotiated with the trafficker to sell the mother and daughter together. Fortunately, he was saved by the help of noble people. Xu Shiyou took two members of the death squad down the mountain to visit his mother, but was ambushed by Xu Cunli. Although Xu Shiyou escaped, the two members died. Xu Shiyou also recorded this account on his uncle Xu Cunli.
Because of this, when Xu Shiyou saw Xu Cunli again, his eyes would burst into flames. When Xu Cunli saw the anger in Xu Shiyou's eyes, he collapsed to the ground in fear, begging Xu Shiyou to let him go for the sake of his uncle and nephew. This move made Xu Shiyou even more angry. He rushed in front of him, pulled out the pistol from his waist, and was about to shoot Xu Cunli. The villagers who were watching were all shocked by this scene, and no one dared to speak out.
Xu Shiyou's mother was accompanying a female guest in the house. When she heard the noise outside, she ran out on tiptoe. When she saw Xu Shiyou who was angry and holding a pistol, she quickly shouted to stop. But at this time, Xu Shiyou was furious and could not stop him. His pistol had already been pushed to Xu Cunli's forehead, which frightened Xu Cunli and fainted.
She knows her son better than her mother. Her mother knows that Xu Shiyou’s temper is rising, and no one can stop it. It was supposed to be a good day for Xu Shiyou to return home in glory. Once this shot was fired, it would definitely cause disaster. In desperation, the mother rushed over, knelt at Xu Shiyou's feet with a plop, and hugged her son's thighs with both hands. Xu Shiyou calmed down slightly when he saw his mother like this, and quickly helped his mother up.
After he calmed down, Xu Shiyou told his mother that Xu Cunli was burdened with a blood debt and could never be easily forgiven. On the third day after Xu Shiyou received his relatives and friends, the county authorities rushed over and arrested Xu Cunli. Xu Shiyou repeatedly confessed that he should deal with Xu Cunli as he should without considering the uncle-nephew relationship between them.
Shortly after Xu Shiyou returned to the army, Xu Cunli was sentenced to life imprisonment by the County People's Court for counterrevolutionary crimes and was imprisoned in Xinxian County Prison, Henan. In the autumn of 1957, Xu Cunli died of illness in prison, ending a life full of crimes. For Xu Shiyou, every wrongdoer has his own debtor. After Xu Cunli was imprisoned, he sent living expenses to his uncle's family every month. His mother told him that your uncle still had a wife and children at home. What would happen to his family if he died.
Xu Shiyou's second visit to relatives was in the winter of 1957 when he was deputy minister of defense and commander of the Nanjing Military Region. That day, the weather was fine, the temperature was very low, the north wind was sharp, and the ground was cold. Xu Shiyou and his group of more than ten people set off from Nanjing in three jeeps. Xu Shiyou, his secretary and the security guard rode in the first car and walked in front, followed closely by the other entourage in the other two cars.
Entering the Dabie Mountains , Xu Shiyou was particularly happy. He introduced to his entourage how he fought against local tyrants, fought guerrillas, and went through life and death in the mountains.When the car arrived at Futianhe District in Macheng, Xu Shiyou was very excited. He said to his secretary: "My hometown is not far ahead. I didn't tell anyone in advance. My mother at home doesn't know I'm coming back. Today I'm going to surprise her with a surprise attack."
When the car arrived at Futianhe, because the road ahead was closed to traffic, he had to ask the three drivers and the car to stay. He led his entourage on foot to Xujiawa. After two days of journey, when the sun set in the afternoon, Xu Shiyou and his party stepped into Xujiawa, where they had been away for five years. The adobe and blue-tiled house close to the hillside was Xu Shiyou's home.
As soon as he entered the door, Xu Shiyou recognized his mother, who was wearing a homespun coat and feeding a piglet. Although the person is thinner, his body is still relatively healthy. Xu Shiyou called out softly: "Mom! Youde is back to see you!"
His son suddenly came home, which surprised Xu's mother and caught her off guard. Although Xu Shiyou only stayed at home for two days and three nights this time, he never left the house and stayed by his mother's side from beginning to end. When he came back this time, he saw that his mother was still in good health and the house had been repaired. Xu Shiyou was very happy. In order to thank the villagers and village cadres for their care, on the first day before he left, he specially took out 50 yuan and ordered his entourage to buy back a big fat pig. Kill it and entertain the folks.
Unexpectedly, this separation was actually the farewell between General Xu Shiyou and his mother.
Xu Shiyou returned home for the third time in 1959. Xu's mother had passed away by this time. When mother died. General Xu Shiyou had been informed of his death. Due to the tense relations between China and the Soviet Union at that time, and the Taiwan authorities clamoring to counterattack the mainland, the general was tied up with military affairs and could not go home. As soon as he entered Xujiawa this time, under the guidance of an old fellow villager, he first came to his mother's grave. He knelt down, burst into tears, and choked up his voice as he read:
"Mother, please forgive me for being unfilial. You have been retiring until the end of your life. Youde has come home today to apologize to you!"
Later, he took off his military uniform, asked the villagers to bring poles, soil dustpans and shovels, and personally built stones and soil for his mother's grave. With the help of the entourage, I worked for more than two hours before reluctantly returning to my home.
Xu Shiyou felt very uncomfortable when he learned that many people in his hometown had been affected by the disaster. He borrowed 1,000 yuan from the accompanying chief of the management section of the headquarters and distributed it to the villagers in person, 20 yuan per adult and 10 yuan per child, and asked them to go to the streets to buy some grains to survive. Later, he sent his secretary to the town and bought back a pig at a high price. After slaughtering it, he cooked two large pots of meat in front of his house, so that the whole village, men, women, old and young, could celebrate the New Year happily.
This time, General Xu Shiyou returned to his hometown for the last time.
In August 1983, General Xu Shiyou, who was already 78 years old, knew that his life would not last long. This time he wanted to go back to Xujiawa for another look in a special way. So he specifically asked for two months' leave from the Central Military Commission and requested 43 jeeps from the Nanjing Military Region.
xinxianBefore liberation, it was affiliated to Huang'an County, Hubei Province (now Hong'an County). During the famous "Jute Uprising" and the long-term revolutionary struggle, a total of 43 generals came out of Xin County. Some are deceased and some are still alive. This time he asked for 43 jeeps to represent the 43 generals from Xinxian County when they returned to the Dabie Mountains to visit the folks in their hometown.
Perhaps the weather was not beautiful. When Xu Shiyou asked for leave, the weather was sunny and cloudless. Unexpectedly, when the car was about to collect his poems and was about to hit the road, it suddenly rained heavily and it continued to rain for more than ten days. He had no choice but to cancel his leave to the Central Military Commission. Unexpectedly, the holiday was canceled in the morning, and the sky suddenly cleared up again in the afternoon. At this time, Xu Shiyou couldn't help but sigh and said: "If God doesn't let me go back, then I won't go back. I will wait until I die before going back."
General Xu Shiyou's fourth trip home did not take place.
As early as October 22, 1979, Xu Shiyou decided to return to his mother after his death, and he had the idea of burial. So, he wrote a letter to his eldest son Xu Guang: "Send me 50 yuan in cash and use this money to buy me a coffin.I will not be cremated after my death. I will be buried in my hometown and next to my parents. I will serve my country loyally while I am alive and honor my parents when I die. I am 74 years old this year and I am in good health. I will only live to be 80 or 90 years old, which is only more than ten years. You can make preparations first. "
Just after New Year's Day in 1985, Xu Shiyou asked his secretary to write a report to the Party Central Committee, saying that he did not have much time left and had no other demands for the organization. He asked the Party Central Committee to bury him in a coffin after his death. The reason was that he had participated in the revolution since childhood and had not served his biological mother enough. He should be loyal in life and filial in death. He should be buried beside his mother's grave to fulfill his filial piety.
October 22, 1985 At dusk, the famous general Xu Shiyou left his beloved motherland and people with tears in his eyes and a smile on his lips.
On October 26, Wang Zhen, deputy director of the Central Advisory Committee, came to the Nanjing Military Region on the entrustment of Deng Xiaoping and solemnly conveyed Deng Xiaoping's opinions. He said: "Xu Shiyou made great achievements in his 60-year military career and lived a life of countless deaths. He was a special person with special character, special experience, and special contributions. The special pass signed by Comrade Deng Xiaoping is special and special. "
Wang Zhen mentioned seven "special" in a row. Who among today's Chinese leaders can have such evaluation and treatment? In view of Deng Xiaoping's high evaluation of Xu Shiyou, who can offer any opinions?
The Nanjing Military Region followed the general's last wish and The general was buried in the embrace of Dabie Mountain, beside his parents. Mrs. Tian Pu led the whole family to bow three times to the graves of their parents, and then sprinkled Maotai wine on the general's grave. She cried and said: "World friend, you have been working hard for most of your life, and now you have finally returned to your mother. It's time for you to talk to your mother and take a good rest." "
