In 1985, Deng Gong conducted a southern tour. In his haste, he brought a bottle of Moutai wine. Deng Gong did not have the habit of drinking spirits, so why bring a bottle of Moutai wine? It turned out that this bottle of Moutai wine was a gift that Deng Gong was ready to give to his old friend's 80th birthday. And this old friend is Xu Shiyou, who is known as the "Dionysian Commander".
So, why did Deng Gong give Xu Shiyou Moutai wine, and what kind of revolutionary friendship did the two have formed? If you are interested in this topic, please help "press the 2-second like button" to give a strong thumbs up. And "pay attention" to it, often come later, and don't get lost.
(Later xu shiyou)
In the Book of Poetry and Qin Feng, it is recorded: "If you have no clothes, you will be clothed with the Son; if you cultivate my spear, you will have the same vendetta against the Son." This poem is about the fact that at the time of national disaster, the warriors jointly formed a friendship of clothing and clothing, and the same hatred, and the intersection between Xu Shiyou and Deng Gong is precisely the best witness to this poem.
Xu Shiyou was born in 1906 to a poor peasant family in Macheng, Hubei Province, which today is under the jurisdiction of Henan Province, that is, Xinxian County, Henan. The birth of Xu Shiyou also brought great hope to the Xu family of the generation of farmers at that time, and the family hoped that this big fat boy could make a fortune and become a big official in the future. We all call being an official "embarking on a career journey", so Xu Shiyou's initial name was "Xu Shiyou", which means a good friend who is related to the official's fate.
(Young Xu Shiyou)
However, the poor family could not let Xu Shiyou go to the private school like the children of the high-ranking officials and nobles at that time, and Xu Shiyou was more interested in touching birds in trees, fishing in the river, and practicing fist and foot kung fu when he was a child. Therefore, when he was still an 8-year-old doll, he went to the Shaolin Temple with an old boxer in the township to learn eighteen martial arts, and even his father and mother did not expect that the child he had placed his expectations on being an official would finally be a genius in martial arts.
After Xu Shiyou went up to the mountain to learn martial arts, he practiced for eight years, flying cornices and walking on the wall, southern fists and northern legs, he would have some. When he was sixteen years old, he heard the news that his father and mother had been bullied by the bullies in the village. So in a fit of anger, he went down the mountain with a martial art and taught the bully a lesson. Although after Xu Shiyou came down the mountain, he was still vulgar. However, he still remembered the old boxer who taught him kung fu, so he changed his name to "Shiyou", and the "Shi" here is shakyamuni Buddha in Buddhism, that is, the Rulai Buddha in "Journey to the West". Xu Shiyou gave himself a new name, which means that although he is still vulgar, he is still a good friend of the Buddhists.
(Xu Shiyou, who practices weightlifting)
The third time Xu Shiyou changed his name was when he was in Yan'an. At that time, Xu Shiyou had been a Red Army for nearly ten years. Because he had practiced a good kung fu in Shaolin, in his military career, he often rushed in front of the soldiers with a large knife and personally stabbed the enemy soldiers several times, which made the Red Army soldiers admire Xu Shiyou who killed the enemy in front. Also because of his outstanding military achievements, he was promoted to the commander of the Red 4th Army in 1935, and later this unit also successfully met with our Red Army large troops in northern Shaanxi.
After meeting in northern Shaanxi, Xu Shiyou had the opportunity to meet Chairman Mao. Chairman Mao shook his hand very cordially and said:
"I have long heard that there is a Xu Shiyou in the Red Fourth Army, who is not afraid of death on the battlefield and can kill the enemy, it seems that it is you!" Why did you give it that name? ”
After listening to Chairman Mao's question, Xu Shiyou said the origin of his name, and Chairman Mao laughed and said: "In my opinion, our cause is to unite with the people of the world, and how good it is to be a friend of the people of the world!" After hearing Chairman Mao's words, Xu Shiyou was deeply moved, so "Shiyou", that is, "Friends of the People of the World", became the name of his later life.
(Xu Shiyou and Chairman Mao)
In the end, Xu Shiyou did not disappoint Chairman Mao's expectations; during his tenure as vice minister of the University of Kang's affairs department, he did a good job in the study work of Kang Da and cultivated a number of outstanding talents for our party and our army. However, Xu Shiyou, who wanted to make meritorious contributions on the front line, was not willing to do the work in the rear all the time. In 1938, he took the initiative to ask Chairman Mao to go to the front. With Chairman Mao's approval, Xu Shiyou served as deputy brigade commander in the 386th Brigade of the 129th Division, and the political commissar of the 129th Division was Deng Gong, which was also the first period of work experience between the two of them.
After being transferred to the position of deputy brigade commander of the 129th Division, Xu Shiyou fought a beautiful victory in the ambush battle of Qiu County in the second year of his appointment. In this battle, our army eliminated as many as 200 regular army troops at the cost of more than 50 casualties. After receiving the good news from the front, Deng Gong was overjoyed: "A good Xu Shiyou, just came to our 129th Division, he made such a great contribution!" ”
(Xu Shiyou, who spied on the enemy situation on the front line)
However, it is somewhat regrettable that after the end of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Xu Shiyou was transferred to Shandong to participate in the Liberation War, while Deng Gong and Marshal Liu Bocheng commanded the Central Plains Field Army and fought against the Nationalist Army. Although the two are far apart on the battlefield, they still have a heart to heart with each other, and have cooperated with each other many times on the battlefields of the whole country. After Xu Shiyou participated in the Battle of Laiwu and later liberated Jinan, his reputation was even more powerful to the whole army, which made Deng Gong, who worked far away in Nakano, feel admired.
After the victory of the Liberation War, Deng Gong and Xu Shiyou both worked in their own posts and continued to contribute to the cause of the motherland, although the two did not intersect much during this period, it was often said that "the friendship of gentlemen is as light as water", and they both had their own concerns in their hearts. After Chairman Mao's death, Deng Gong became the helmsman of our party and our army, but at this time, Vietnam, which is located in the south of our country, led many troops to attack the border, which made Deng Gong feel a little worried. It was also at this time that Xu Shiyou, who had fought side by side with Deng Gong, stepped forward.
At the end of 1978, a move of self-defense counterattack against Vietnam had already been brewing in Deng Gong's mind, but which general was sent to counterattack Vietnam and guard the southern gate of the motherland was a question that Deng Gong had not yet considered clearly: Send Marshal Liu Bocheng, the "god of war"? At that time, Marshal Liu Bocheng was already eighty years old, and he was blind in both eyes, and his physical condition was not very good. What about sending Su Yu, who had won seven battles and seven victories? General Su Yu's physical condition at that time was not very good, and the shrapnel in his head had not yet been removed, which was not suitable for high-intensity combat on the battlefield. In the end, after much deliberation, Deng Gong made his own decision: to send Xu Shiyou, who was then the commander of the Guangzhou Military Region, to take charge of the eastern battlefield. Yang Dezhi, who was then the commander of the Kunming Military Region, was in charge of the western front.
(Xu Shiyou)
At that time, although Xu Shiyou's physical condition was better than that of Liu Bocheng and Su Yu, after all, he was also seventy-three years old, so why did Deng Gong still hand-pick Yasou to let Xu Shiyou go to the battlefield? In addition to the trust in the military ability of his old comrade-in-arms, there are two other important reasons: First, Xu Shiyou participated in the command of the Battle of the Paracels as early as 1974 and fought with the South Vietnamese troops at that time, so he was relatively familiar with and experienced in the combat methods of the Vietnamese army; secondly, xu Shiyou was serving as a commander in the Guangzhou Military Region at that time, which was relatively close to Vietnam and had a higher prestige in the People's Liberation Army.
And Xu Shiyou should not give in, although he is already seventy years old, he still wears a strong and sharp and goes to the battlefield. On the eve of the launch of the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, he went to Nanning to organize combat readiness. At the military meeting, Xu Shiyou cleared his throat and said in a serious tone to the people attending the meeting: "Since Comrade Xiaoping has already ordered me and the Central Military Commission has also given us orders, I will say two sentences here: We must conscientiously carry out the orders of the Central Military Commission, and we must not be sloppy." In this battle, we must either not fight, or we must win if we want to fight! ”
(Xu Shiyou in his later years)
The soldiers of the People's Liberation Army were also shocked by the words of the veteran general, and expressed their willingness to serve the party and the people and fight on the battlefield. In February 1979, the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam was officially launched, and the Ninth Route Army of 560,000 people in the east and west jumped south and swallowed the mountains and rivers. Before the Vietnamese army went to war, it smugly said that Tong DengCheng, which had a strong barrier in Vietnam, would give the PLA three months to attack, and the PLA might not be able to take it. However, this fortified city in Vietnam was actually taken in a day in the Eastern Route Army commanded by Hsu Shi-woo. Immediately after, Langshan was declared lost under the offensive of our army? The capture of the city by our army meant that the capital of Vietnam: Hanoi had lost its last barrier. This made the Vietnamese army, which was then known as the "third in the world", lose its jaw in shock: "Who commanded this PLA unit?" How can I fight so much? ”
On the other side, many people expressed their hidden worries to Deng Gong: "After all, Xu Shiyou is also 73 years old, such an old age, what if the battlefield command is defeated?" But Deng Gong firmly said: "Even if you lose for a while, it doesn't matter, victory or defeat is a common thing for soldiers, I believe Xu Shiyou can fight a big victory!" Xu Shiyou, who was on the front line, finally did not live up to the expectations of Deng Gong and the people.
Xu Shiyou's outstanding military achievements on the Vietnamese front made Deng Gong admire this brave and good general. In 1985, Deng Gong made a tour of the south, passing through the city of Nanjing, where Xu Shiyou lived at the time. That year coincided with the old general's eightieth birthday, so Deng Gong specially brought a bottle of Xu Shiyou's favorite Moutai wine to celebrate Xu Shiyou's birthday.
After hearing that Deng Gong had come to visit him, Xu Shiyou once disregarded his physical condition and wanted to come to the train station to greet Deng Gong. When the two old comrades-in-arms finally met, the two were even more excited. Deng Gong, facing his old comrades-in-arms who have fought side by side with him for many years and the heroes of the motherland, said with emotion: "I heard that this year is your eightieth birthday, and I left you with the Moutai wine that you love to drink, which is also eighty years old wine!" Xu Shiyou sighed, "Thank you So much Deng Gong for caring!" This is an eighty-year-old wine, and the older the better! Therefore, the two of them talked about wine, and the vicissitudes of the past century and the revolutionary friendship experienced during the period were all melted into fragrant wine.
(Xu Shiyou and his family)
During the visit to Xu Shiyou, Deng Gong was also very concerned about Xu Shiyou's body, saying that although he was younger than himself, he may not be as good as his own body, and he must take more care of himself, and Xu Shiyou was also very touched by this. Unfortunately, however, Xu Shiyou, who had been a hero of the horse, died of illness in October 1985 at the age of 80. On his deathbed, Xu Shiyou also put forward one of his wishes to the country: that is, not to be cremated to the Babaoshan Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery, but to bury himself next to his mother.
As early as the 1950s, Chairman Mao proposed to change customs and customs, actively advocated that everyone should not be buried in the earth, and set aside arable land for the peasants, and Chairman Mao himself took the lead in signing the list of cremations. However, when the list reached Xu Shiyou's hands, Xu Shiyou did not sign it, saying: "I myself left home at the age of 8, and later participated in the revolution for a lifetime, and my mother did not fulfill her filial piety when she died." I hope that I will be buried in the future, next to my mother. Chairman Mao eventually agreed to his request.
However, in the 1980s, was Xu Shiyou still cremated to the Babaoshan Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery, or buried with his mother? In the end, this decision still needed to be made by Deng Gong, and Deng Gong's reply was: "Xu Shiyou is a person who has made special contributions to china's revolution, approve the burial." Therefore, the old general's will to fulfill his filial piety for his mother has finally been realized, and his contributions to the motherland and the people will always be remembered by us.