Zhang Xueliang's most cattle bodyguard: from the richest man in Hong Kong, he stopped at the army general and left a legacy of 15 billion yuan after his death
In China's modern military history, the life of a generation of famous generals He Shili is legendary, his rich origin, his patriotic feelings, and his iron courage and loyalty have all been passed down as immortal stories.
He Shili is a mixed Eurasian son, his father is a British Dutch Jew, and his mother is Guangdong, China. Ho Shi Li's father, Ho Tung, was the richest man in Hong Kong at that time, and was a noble knight personally crowned by the British Empress.
The gambling king Ho Hung Sun is the grandson of Ho Tung's brother, and kung fu superstar Bruce Lee is the grandson of Ho Tung's brother. Yes, they are all family, Ho Shi Li is Ho Hongshen's uncle, Bruce Lee's uncle.
Born in such a prominent family, He Shili was undoubtedly the proud son of heaven who was born with a golden spoon. However, He Shili is not only not pampered, but also shows a different side since childhood.
When Ho Was 9 years old, his father Ho Tung hosted the newly appointed Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Sir Masley, at home. Sir Maxley liked hosley's conversation, so he gave him an English gold coin and asked him if he was proud to be a British citizen.
To the surprise of the colonist Sir Maxley, the young He Shili replied with a straight face:
"I'm a Chinese kid and I'm proud of it!"
According to the regulations of the British government in Hong Kong at that time, at the age of eighteen, he could choose his own nationality, and He Shili resolutely refused to hold British nationality when he became an adult, and appealed to the court on this matter, and the result was that 18-year-old He Shili won the case, so he quickly became famous throughout the country, and everyone knew that the son of the richest man in Hong Kong was a Chinese patriot.
Ho studied at Queen's College in Hong Kong as a young man, but his ambition was to become a prominent general. Therefore, in 1925, He Shili was admitted to the Royal Military Academy of Hulez in the United Kingdom, and the following year he was admitted to the British Les hill artillery school to specialize in artillery, and then transferred to the French Brewer Artillery College for further study.
He Shili's study experience was unmatched by any general in the Republic of China period, which had the factor of his personal efforts, but it was also closely related to his origin, because these aristocratic schools were simply inaccessible to ordinary people.
In August 1930, He Shili returned to China and was determined to serve the country.
As the richest man in Hong Kong, He Dong is friends with celebrities from various factions such as Zhang Zuolin, Kang Youwei and President Jiang. When the news of He Shili's intention to join the army came out, the top level of the Nationalist government reacted at the first time, promising to let He Shili hold an important position, and the Central Army and Navy Command were left to his own choosing.
On the one hand, the National Government is so active, on the one hand, it looks at He Shili's talents, but more importantly, it covets the wealth of the He family and hopes to get he Dong's support.
However, He Shili refused the invitation of the Nationalist government and decided to go north to join Zhang Xueliang. Because he heard that Zhang Xueliang was rarely trying to govern, and the northeast was the most important military point in China at that time, he wanted to go to the most dangerous place to fight the Japanese Kou head-on.
Under He Dong's arrangement, He Shili met Zhang Xueliang, who was very satisfied with this young man of Wenzhi martial arts and stayed by his side as his staff officer.
He Shili refused the high-ranking official Houlu provided by the Nationalist government, and in the bitter cold land of the northeast, he started step by step from the lowest level, and soon grew into an excellent general, becoming Zhang Xueliang's right hand and left arm, ranking among Zhang Xueliang's "four bodyguards".
When the Xi'an Incident occurred in 1936, He Shili happened to take a leave of absence to return to Hong Kong Province. After Zhang Xueliang was imprisoned, he tried to rescue him, but he did not succeed.
When the Anti-Japanese War broke out in 1937, He Shili threw himself into the frontline battlefield and became an iron-boned anti-Japanese general.
After 1949, He Shili successively held important positions in Taiwan, such as "Executive Secretary of the Ministry of National Defense", "Adviser to the Executive Yuan", and Chief Representative of the Military Mission to the United Nations.
Because of He Shili's aristocratic origins and foreign background, President Jiang had intended to make him a "diplomatic general" to mediate relations with Britain, the United States and other countries. He Shili was willing to accept this position, but the condition was to release Zhang Xueliang, but his wish was not fulfilled.
In 1956, He Dong died of illness, and He Shili was designated as the heir to the huge property.
In 1959, He Shili, who had no hope of rescuing Zhang Xueliang, retired as a second-class major general in the Army and returned to Hong Kong to run the family business.
He Shili has always been obsessed with the governor Zhang Xueliang, and in the 1990s, Zhang Xueliang regained his freedom to settle in the United States, and General He Shili went to Hawaii twice to visit Zhang Xueliang at his old age.
On 26 July 1998, Ho died of illness in Hong Kong at the age of 92, with a total estate value of over HK$15 billion.