In Macheng, Hubei Province, in the hinterland of Dabie Mountain, there is a pair of cousins surnamed Wang who are famous.
The older brother is the founding general of the republic, and the younger brother is the founding general of the republic.
The pair of cousins were General Wang Shusheng and General Wang Hongkun.
Interestingly, for a long time, Wang Hongkun has been calling his brother "chief" and Wang Shu claiming his younger brother as "teacher".
What's going on?
Wang Shusheng is four years older than Wang Hongkun, and from childhood to adulthood, his younger brother Wang Hongkun has always been a loyal follower of his cousin.
In that year, Wang Hongkun followed his brother Wang Shusheng to participate in the famous "Jute Uprising".
Since then, Wang Shusheng has been the superior of his cousin Wang Hongkun, who takes him with him everywhere he goes.
After the defeat of the Jute Uprising, the cousins accidentally dispersed.
Wang Shusheng followed the team into Mulan Mountain to fight a guerrilla attack, while his cousin Wang Hongkun, with more than two dozen brothers, temporarily joined a unit of the Gui clan.
Wang Hongkun joined the army this time not only to "temporarily avoid the limelight", but to have his own ideas.
The peasant armed forces generally lack military training, and their military skills are poor, relying only on courage.
Wang Hongkun wanted to learn a little military skill through this move, and once the time was ripe, he would return to the revolutionary ranks and continue to make a revolution with his cousin.
During the period of the Gui army, Wang Hongkun paid special attention to everything, not only learned a lot of military skills and military training knowledge, but also learned some tactical strategies.
A year later, Wang Hongkun found out about his cousin's whereabouts and learned that Wang Shusheng and others had re-raised the red flag in Dabie Mountain.
Therefore, Wang Hongkun did not hesitate to take off his military uniform, found an opportunity to desert, and plunged into the Dabie Mountain to look around for Wang Shusheng.
Wang Shusheng was leading the team to fight a guerrilla war at that time, there was no fixed place to live, the whereabouts were uncertain, Wang Hongkun suffered a lot, and he could not find his cousin for a while.
"Stepping on the iron shoes and finding nowhere", perhaps it was Providence, or perhaps there was a tacit understanding between the brothers, Wang Hongkun finally met his cousin at the junction of the two provinces of Eyu and Yu.
However, the scene of the brothers reuniting after a long absence is a bit "funny".
On that day, when Wang Hongkun was resting in a mountain forest to find his way, he was suddenly taken "prisoner" by a group of Red Army fighters.
It turned out that Wang Hongkun was wearing a silk coat, looking east and west, aimlessly wandering around in the forest, and the soldiers arrested him as a "traitor" of the Kuomintang army.
The Kuomintang "traitors" were the most hated people among the soldiers of the Red Army, and after wang Hongkun was caught, the soldiers tied him up and almost "skinned him."
He explained in every way that the Soldiers of the Red Army just did not believe him.
Wang Hongkun did not want to die at the hands of the soldiers of the Red Army, what could he do?
Wang Hongkun was in a hurry, let go of his throat and shouted loudly: "Wrong grasp, wrong catch!" My brother is Wang Hongxin! ”
"We don't know any Wang Hongxin!" The Red Army soldiers scolded.
It turned out that Wang Shusheng's original name was Wang Hongxin, and where would the Red Army soldiers know this.
Coincidentally, Wang Hongkun's shouting was just heard by Wang Shusheng not far away, and he immediately ran over, fixed his eyes, and found that the "traitor" who was arrested was his cousin Wang Hongkun.
For more than a year, Wang Shusheng has not known the whereabouts of his cousin, and today he accidentally "caught" his cousin, and he was naturally happy.
After asking about the situation, the soldiers immediately loosened Wang Hongkun's ties.
Wang Hongkun asked his cousin seriously, "I have come to you, do you still want me?" ”
Wang Shusheng replied without hesitation: "Yes, of course!" We brothers work together to make a revolution! ”
In this way, Wang Hongkun returned to his cousin's side and once again became a fierce general under Wang Shusheng.
Because he spent a year in the Kuomintang Gui army, Wang Hongkun inevitably brought some language habits in the Kuomintang army.
For example, in the Kuomintang army, subordinates called their superiors "chiefs," and when he first returned to the Red Army, Wang Hongkun habitually called Wang Shusheng "chiefs" in public.
To this end, Wang Shusheng talked to his cousin once in particular seriously and asked him to adjust.
Since then, in public, Wang Hongkun has changed his name to his cousin as "chief", but in private, Wang Hongkun still calls Wang Shusheng "brother".
There is a saying, "The Red Army on the one hand produces wise generals, and the Red Fourth Front army produces fierce generals", which still makes some sense.
The Red Fourth Front originated in Dabie Mountain, and the military cadres of Dabie Mountain basically have a characteristic - fighting is not fatal, fierce.
Wang Shusheng is such a fierce general.
In one battle, the reactionary vigilante group used earthen cannons, which were aimed at the charging fighters.
Wang Shusheng didn't look good at all, and actually pounced on it alone, blocking the earthen cannon port of the reactionary vigilante group with his body.
Fortunately, this earthen cannon was damp and could not be fired, otherwise our army would have damaged a future founding general of the republic.
The cousin returned to his cousin's side, Wang Shusheng was like a tiger, and soon after, Wang Shusheng was also pleasantly surprised to find that "shibei three days should be treated with astonishment", and the cousin was no longer the "mangy man" who only knew how to fight hard.
Once, the march passed through a village where Wang Shusheng wanted the warriors to camp.
Wang Hongkun, however, resolutely opposed his cousin's decision, believing that the location of the village was very unsafe, easy to attack and difficult to defend, and if the enemy attacked, the troops would inevitably suffer heavy losses.
Wang Shusheng did not think so, so the team settled down in this village.
Wang Hongkun saw that he could not convince his cousin, so he left the village with a group of people and horses and stationed himself at a commanding height outside the village.
Sure enough, in the middle of the night, a battalion of the enemy drove over and blocked the main passage of the village.
Fortunately, Wang Hongkun preempted the commanding heights in advance and suppressed the enemy in time, and Wang Shusheng successfully broke through with the team.
Since then, Wang Shusheng has looked at Wang Hongkun with admiration.
Although Wang Hongkun did not go to military school, he really benefited a lot from being a soldier in the Gui army for a year.
From basic platoon training, to assassination, shooting, to looking at terrain, maps, combat essentials, strategy and tactics, etc., in Wang Shusheng's eyes, his cousin can be called a military all-rounder.
"The capable one is the teacher", Wang Shusheng put down the "chief" and the cousin's "shelf", and honestly learned from the cousin."
Wang Hongkun was also "tireless" to the "chief" and cousin who were open-minded and studious, so a pair of cousins had another layer of "teacher-student relationship".
Many years later, the old comrades-in-arms still remember some scenes of that year, and whenever they mention it, they can't help but laugh out loud:
When Wang Shusheng asked his cousin about military issues, he opened his mouth and closed his mouth and called Wang Hongkun a "teacher."
Wang Hongkun was serious, slowly and methodically "giving lessons" to his cousin, and did not regard Wang Shusheng as a "chief" or brother in the slightest.
Wang Hongkun later recalled that at that time, the Red Army soldiers lacked basic military training, and basic things such as aiming, shooting, and combat formations had to be taught from scratch.
He said proudly: "In those years, all the recruits in the army were personally trained by me. ”
In the process of the red army's subsequent growth, the troops were reorganized several times, and Wang Shusheng tried every means to keep Wang Hongkun by his side.
When the Red Thirty-first Division was established, Wang Shusheng had already served as the party representative of a large group.
Under Xu Xiangqian's direct leadership, Wang Shusheng's military ability improved rapidly.
The Red Fourth Front was once the most powerful force, with an army of 100,000 in its heyday.
In 1933, Wang Shusheng became the deputy commander-in-chief of the 100,000-strong army and became the deputy commander of Xu Qianqian.
From officially joining the Red Army in 1927 to serving as the deputy commander-in-chief of the Red Fourth Front, Wang Shusheng only took six years, and this progress can be described as rapid.
Wang Hongkun's progress was also very rapid, and in 1933, Wang Hongkun served as the commander of the Red Fourth Army.
After the end of the Long March, Wang Shusheng joined the Western Route Army, but due to the huge disparity between the enemy and us, the Western Route Army was almost completely destroyed.
Wang Shusheng went through all kinds of difficulties and dangers before returning to Yan'an, and then entered the Kang Da study.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Wang Shusheng served as the deputy commander of the Taihang Military Region of the Eighth Route Army, in charge of the armed construction of the military region, and sent a large number of soldiers to the main force.
Wang Hongkun served as the commander of the 385th Brigade of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, and together with Chen Geng, the commander of the 386th Brigade, they were all invincible generals under The Commander of Liu Bocheng's Division!
During the Liberation War, Wang Hongkun served as the second deputy commander of the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Military Region and the commander of the Sixth Column, and led his troops to cross the Yellow River under the command of Liu Deng and leap into the Dabie Mountains.
General Wang Hongkun has participated in hundreds of battles, large and small, and his military ability and extremely strong adaptability have also attracted the attention of his superiors.
Wang Shusheng led his troops to advance into the Central Plains with Liu Deng's army, served as the commander of the Eyu Military Region, and repeatedly smashed the "qing suppression" of the Kuomintang army.
During the Battle of Huaihai, Wang Shusheng and Wang Hongkun were ordered to stay in the Central Plains, consolidate the rear, and plan for the Huaihai Decisive Battle.
After the founding of New China, Wang Shusheng worked in the army system and prepared to build the General Ordnance Department of the People's Liberation Army.
Wang Hongkun was appointed deputy commander of the Navy, and together with Commander Xiao Jinguang, participated in the preparation of the new Chinese Navy and became one of the main founders of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy.
In 1955, General Wang Shusheng was awarded the rank of Founding General, and his cousin General Wang Hongkun was also awarded the rank of Admiral.
Both generals made significant contributions to the War of Resistance Against Japan and the War of Liberation.
General Wang Shusheng died of illness in Beijing in 1974 at the age of 69.
General Wang Hongkun also died in Beijing in 1993 at the age of 83.
According to the brothers' last wishes, the families of the two generals sent their ashes back to Macheng, Hubei Province, and were with Dabie Mountain forever.
"One door and two generals", this is the glory of the Wang family, and it makes the generals' hometown of Macheng, Hubei Province, proud!