In the early autumn of 1987, an old man named Zhao Jisheng in Xinxian County, Henan Province, received a letter from his granddaughter Zhao Guiying, which also contained a photo of an old woman.
So I opened WeChat and saw what my granddaughter really wanted to say. In the letter, she asked urgently: "Grandpa, do you remember Jiang Hongying?" ”
Seeing the name "Jiang Hongying", the old man who was more than a year old could not help but be stunned. Looking at the photos on the table, I immediately burst into tears and hurriedly unfolded the letter paper to reply: "Child, I remember, I waited for nearly 60 years, and finally found her..."
Escape from the cave of suffering and enter the revolutionary road
Jiang Hongying's hometown is in Dinghai County, Zhejiang Province, due to the poor family, their Jiang family has been working in Shanghai since their grandfather's generation, and when Jiang Hongying was born, the living conditions of the Jiang family gradually improved. Therefore, in her memory, her childhood life before the age of 10 was spent in Shanghai.
The Jiang family thought that they could stabilize in Shanghai, but they did not think that in 1927, Shanghai was not as peaceful and tolerant as before, and white terror enveloped the entire Shanghai Beach, and the whole city was panicked. In order to escape the turmoil, the Jiang family had to move back to their hometown and join Jiang Hongying's uncle.
However, the conditions of the uncle's family were no better than those of the Jiang family, and the arrival of the Jiang family made this big family eat. In desperation, the mother was forced to send the young Jiang Hongying to the Chen family in the same village as a child bride.
The mother thought that Jiang Hongying would be blessed when she arrived at the Chen family and would no longer suffer and starve, but she did not expect that her daughter was going to a "cave of suffering". The skinny Jiang Hongying was there like a lady who had to do anything, and the slightest carelessness would lead to punches and kicks, and she fell asleep with tears almost every night.
During this period, she tried to escape, but failed, and in 1928, two old medicine pickers from Dabie Mountain saw her and sympathized with her, so they helped Jiang Hongying escape from the Chen family. The two old men told her that when she arrived at Dabie Mountain, there would be a party organization to protect her.
When the mother learned that Jiang Hongying had escaped, she was very panicked, afraid that the Chen family would block and intercept and capture her daughter, and took her to Ningbo, Nanjing, Hankou and other ferries, and went around a large circle to shake off the Chen family. Finally came to the Dabie Mountain Revolutionary Base Area, the mother and daughter were able to shelter.
Gloriously become the Red Army, happy to marry the revolutionary
When he arrived at the base area, Jiang Hongying actively joined the local peasant association and the peasant Red Guards. Not long after, in July 1928, the Peasant Red Guards were incorporated into the 31st Division of the 11th Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, and Jiang Hongying officially became a Red Army. As if it were destined by heaven, her enlistment registrant was Zhao Jisheng.
At this time, Zhao Jisheng was only 16 years old, a native of Songlinwa Village in Xinxian County, who had joined the army for less than two years, but his combat experience was very rich, plus he had a deep cultural foundation and a flexible mind, and was deeply appreciated by his superiors.
On the day that Jiang Hongying came to the registration office, Zhao Jisheng only remembered that this girl was thin and small, and her expression was very determined, and later due to busy affairs, the two did not have too much contact.
Less than three years after Jiang Hongying joined the Red Army, because of his strong learning ability, rapid response, and good writing work, he became a correspondent, and his main duty was to pass on intelligence. During this period, she met Zhao Jisheng again and became a good partner and good friend.
The two of them carry out missions together, pass on information, and often talk about ideas and feelings together in their leisure time, express their own inner wishes, and regard each other as close friends.
In 1929, Jiang Hongying and Zhao Jisheng received orders from the organization to safely escort a piece of intelligence to their destination. The enemy has set up many levels and searched many places.
In order to confuse the enemy's sight, the organization decided to let her and Zhao Jisheng pretend to be a couple who were about to get married, and the other warriors pretended to be a welcoming team to escort the intelligence together. In the process, they were almost exposed, but it was fortunate that Zhao Jisheng and other comrades-in-arms were in a hurry to overcome the danger.
After the successful completion of this mission, Jiang Hongying and Zhao Jisheng became more and more cooperative, and since then, they have often pretended to be husband and wife to carry out tasks. Over time, the two people gradually developed feelings for each other and finally exchanged hearts.
In the spring of 1932, with the approval of the military chief Xu Xiangqian and the witness of many comrades-in-arms, Jiang Hongying and Zhao Jisheng held a wedding ceremony at the Suizhou camp in Hubei Province. Although the wedding was simple and simple, it was still exciting for two people who exchanged hearts and shared revolutionary ideals.
Newlywed Yan'er, its happy and harmonious, happy days always pass in a hurry, Jiang Hongying and Zhao Jisheng never thought that they would come so quickly.
Xu Xiangqian
The husband and wife parted from each other, and both were seriously injured
Just over a month after their new marriage, the enemy suddenly "encircled and suppressed" the revolutionary base area of Eyu and Anhui on a large scale, and after careful consideration, the Party Central Committee decided to let the Red Fourth Army temporarily withdraw from Dabie Mountain, while Jiang Hongying and Zhao Jisheng's troops stayed in the base area to continue fighting.
Zhao Jisheng often fought on the front line, while Jiang Hongying could only work in the rear and transmit intelligence. She could only hope for the safe return of her husband, and hated herself for not being able to fight with him on the front line to kill the enemy.
In 1934, after another fierce battle in Suizhou, most of the comrades in Zhao Jisheng's unit died, and only a few people survived, and the entire battlefield was in a mess and miserable.
Zhao Jisheng was seriously injured and dying, and was sent to the hospital for treatment by his comrades-in-arms who later supported him. Because of the urgency of the war, the troops often changed their garrisons, during which time he was transferred back to his hometown to hide, and when he recovered from his wounds, he found himself out of touch with the troops.
At the same time, Jiang Hongying was still taking on the task, still fighting the enemy in the rear, and had no knowledge of her husband's injury. In the winter of 1935, as usual, she transmitted intelligence, and when she passed through the enemy-occupied area, she was suspected by enemy sentries and went to search for it.
Saying that it was too late and fast, Jiang Hongying gritted her teeth and secretly swallowed the intelligence into her stomach, and the sentry did not find any clues, so he took Jiang Hongying and threw angry, raised his bayonet and stabbed her legs fiercely with several blood holes.
Jiang Hongying was in pain and died, lost too much blood and fainted, and the people who passed by saw the situation and rushed to carry her to a nearby hospital for treatment.
After recovering, Jiang Hongying hurriedly discharged from the hospital to look for her troops, but found that the troops had shifted their positions, and in desperation, she had to go to Hankou to look for her mother, and then consider the long term when she settled down.
When Jiang Hongying settled down in Hankou, she inquired about the location of the troops through limited channels, but still found nothing, and later went to Nanjing to make a living after several twists and turns.
She had planned to continue her work and secretly inquire about Zhao Jisheng and the troops, so as to meet with the large troops as soon as possible. However, her mother's actions completely disrupted her plans.
The wife sought a husband, but was forced to remarry
The mother saw that Jiang Hongying was currently alone, and she was old and in poor health, afraid that she would not be able to take care of her daughter, so she urged her to get married and stabilize as soon as possible.
Jiang Hongying did not agree to marry at all, but her husband Zhao Jisheng was still not heard, and her mother was anxious to cry often and persuade her daughter to change her mind.
Seeing her mother is uncomfortable, Jiang Hongying's heart is not a taste, her past experience of being born and dying with her husband comes to mind from time to time, the more she thinks about it, the more painful it hurts, and the more she thinks about it, the more she can't give up this feeling.
The time of 4 years passed quickly, and the news of her husband Zhao Jisheng still found nothing. Coupled with the increasing pressure of life and the weakness of her mother's body, Jiang Hongying had to remarry.
Subsequently, Jiang Hongying married her Zhejiang compatriot Zhang Juyuan, who was 10 years older than her, and was not bad to her, an honest and loyal person. As the days passed, she hid the past in her heart and lived an ordinary and stable life with her current husband.
In 1952, Zhang Juyuan heard that the Fifth Construction Engineering Company of the Ministry of Textiles was recruiting workers, so he applied for a job. Later, the company changed its name to Henan Jianwu Company and moved to Zhengzhou, Henan, and Zhang Juyuan moved to Zhengzhou with Jiang Hongying.
Here, Jiang Hongying never mentioned the glory years to anyone, this past is the softest place in her heart, she is afraid that she will lose her attitude when she mentions it, so no one knows her Red Army identity.
Later, the younger generations in the family often sighed that if Jiang Hongying had told her past early, she might have seen Zhao Jisheng earlier. Every time she heard it, she smiled and said, "Maybe that's providence." ”
In 1985, Zhang Juyuan died, Jiang Hongying became a lonely person, and the Provincial Wujian Company saw that her life was not easy and supported her with the treatment of "five guarantee households".
Jiang Hongying always thought that she would end up alone until she died, and after she lived alone for more than two years, the magical fate gave her a huge surprise.
The husband is not dead, and the granddaughter becomes a red bride
In June 1987, Jiang Hongying, who was more than a year old, bought vegetables and daily necessities as usual, and when she came to the grocery store at the door, she found that the little girl in the store was very cute, and there was some familiarity between her eyebrows, as if she had seen it somewhere, so she couldn't help but chat with her.
Soon, the two men were chatting hotly. During the chat, when the little girl mentioned that her grandfather was an old Red Army, Jiang Hongying unusually chatted with a strange little girl about the past, and she said with a slight smile: "I used to be a Red Army, you tell me what your grandfather's name is, maybe I still know." ”
The little girl replied, "My grandfather's name is Zhao Jisheng." Hearing this name, the old man suddenly froze, and asked in a trembling voice: "Your grandfather, is he from the 31st Division of the 11th Army?" ”
She thought for a moment and replied with a very affirmative answer: "Yes, he often talks about his previous military service." Grandma you see, this is my grandfather. As she spoke, she took out a family photo and pointed to the person in the picture.
Jiang Hongying saw the familiar face in the photo, and could no longer bear it, and with tears in her eyes, she couldn't stop touching the person in the photo. The person in this photo is Zhao Jisheng, and the little girl in the shop is his granddaughter Zhao Guiying.
Seeing that Zhao Guiying next to her had some doubts, Jiang Hongying told her all about her experience of knowing and being different from Zhao Jisheng, and Zhao Guiying was very surprised after hearing it. I actually met my grandfather's wife.
Later, Zhao Guiying, who was in an excited mood, wrote a letter to her grandfather Zhao Jisheng and told Zhao Jisheng about her encounter with Jiang Hongying. When Zhao Jisheng received the letter, it was difficult to suppress the joy in his heart, and he wanted to see Jiang Hongying immediately, so he quickly replied to the letter, and the opening scene appeared.
Zhao Jisheng's children and grandchildren heard about this and asked him about his past experience. After hearing Zhao Jisheng talk about the bitter love that was filled with gun smoke, they were greatly touched and very much approved of Zhao Jisheng's meeting with Jiang Hongying, and they were busy arranging this meeting.
Families reunite and reunite
Not long after, with the support of the Zhao family's children and grandchildren, Jiang Hongying appeared in Zhao Jisheng's village, Songlinwa Village, Jianchanghe Township, Xinxian County. When Zhao Jisheng saw his wife who was thinking about her day and night, he held her hands tightly and could not say a word.
Jiang Hongying looked at his old face and silver hair, and sighed: "Old Zhao, it's been almost 60 years, we have finally met." ”
When the two talked about the past, they sighed. After Zhao Jisheng was seriously wounded in the Battle of Suizhou, he lost contact with the troops. Like Jiang Hongying, he went around inquiring about the other side's news and looking for a transfer point for the troops. In 4 years, what methods were exhausted, still nothing was found.
Unable to find the whereabouts of the troops and his wife, a disheartened Zhao Jisheng married a local peasant girl at the urging of his family. After the marriage, he buried this past in his heart and never mentioned it to anyone, but he did not expect fate to give him such a big surprise.
The good news of the reunion of the husband and wife spread in the village, and everyone happily came to congratulate and propose that since the two old people were now single again, why not continue the frontier and go hand in hand.
In 1994, in March, when spring was in full swing, firecrackers and gongs and drums were hoisted in unison in Songlinwa Village, and Jiang Hongying and Zhao Jisheng held a wedding ceremony again.
On the wedding day, everyone's faces were full of joy, staring at the bride and groom in the courtyard, and when the groom slowly walked to the bride's side, everyone couldn't help but cheer and applaud, feeling happy for the couple who were separated and reunited.
Between Jiang Hongying and Zhao Jisheng in a trance, it seems to be back to the wedding 62 years ago, many comrades-in-arms cheered for them, the bride looked at the groom with a smile in her eyes, the groom shyly held her hand, and the red flag behind them stood firmly and fluttered with the wind.
On October 22 of the same year, Jiang Hongying's red army status was officially confirmed, and when she received the certificate of preferential care, she smiled happily like a child while holding the certificate, and then a string of tears dripped on the bright red cover.
Zhao Jisheng saw the situation, wiped her tears for her in pain, nodded affirmatively to her, and silently comforted and inspired the people present, who warmly applauded, not only to welcome the female soldier back to the team again, but also to express sincere respect to the revolutionary couple.