After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, many young people with lofty ideals who fought for the country emerged, most of whom came from peasant families and even joined the army when their families did not have enough to eat. However, there was such a general of the Eighth Route Army, who was slightly different from others. He was born into a family of large landlords, and at the time of the country's life and death, he threw himself into the war, and became the brigade commander of the Eighth Route Army, and even Boss He admired him.
He was born in 1895 in Renqiu City, Hebei Province, to a landlord family. There are four brothers in the family, he is the fourth oldest, and people are used to calling him "senior fourth master". Under the management of Gao Shiyi's father, the Gao family has become a well-known large family, with more than 4,000 acres of fertile land, as well as flour mills, farms and other industries. After the death of his father, the four brothers separated from the family, and the family property that Coats received could guarantee him a lifetime of glory and wealth.
Moreover, Gao Shiyi is very righteous, and when the villagers need money, as long as they open their mouths to Gao Shi, they will not return empty-handed. Gao Shiyi also built a primary school for his hometown so that the children of poor families could learn. It can be said that Gao Shiyi's prestige in his hometown is very high, and his life is very comfortable.
Coats could have lived like this for a lifetime, but his life was shattered by the Japanese invaders. After the Japanese invaded Hebei, the war would soon spread to his hometown. He witnessed the evil deeds of the invaders and was furious. In 1937, under the call of the Communist Anti-Japanese National United Front, Gao Shiyi jointly organized the "People's Self-Defense Army" with Yang Qiliang and other Communists, with Gao Shiyi as the commander-in-chief.
After the establishment of the Self-Defense Army, Coats donated almost all of his family's money for the expenses of the Self-Defense Army. However, regarding Gao Shiyi's behavior, several brothers of the Gao family had differences. The eldest brother was very supportive of Gao Shiyi and let his son join him, but the third brother was different, he saw that Gao Shiyi and the Communist Party were so close, he advised Gao Shiyi: If something happens in the future, what should the Gao family do?
However, the opposition of the third brother could not prevent Gao Shiyi from supporting the Communist Party, and he resolutely followed the Communist Party, saying: If the Japanese have fought and the country is gone, where will it come from? Under the leadership of the organization and the efforts of Gao Shiyi, the ranks of the Self-Defense Army continued to grow, at that time, the administrative inspectors in Hebei tried to win Gao Shiyi over with high-ranking officials, weapons and other conditions, but they were all rejected by Gao Shiyi and reported the situation to their superiors.
In 1939, the 715th Regiment of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army and 3 regiments of the independent four detachments, together with Gao Shiyi's Self-Defense Army, were reorganized into the 1st Brigade of the 120th Division, with Gao Shiyi as the brigade commander. Gao Shiyi never expected that he would get such a high position, and he was very grateful for the trust of Mr. He, but Mr. He said: "I am very obedient, and you are counted as one of the fourth masters of high school!" Your family is big and you could have enjoyed life comfortably, but in order to resist Japan, you donated all your property, which is really rare. "
Moreover, at that time, most of the cadres of the Eighth Route Army were from poor peasant families, and General Manager He was afraid that they would be embarrassed by Gao Shiyi, who was born into a landlord family, and he also specially talked to Wang Shangrong, deputy brigade commander, and others: "Gao Shiyi is a brigade commander, you must respect him, you must take care of him in your life, if there are any contradictions, I will ask you to settle the account." "
After the defeat in the War of Resistance Against Japan, Gao Shiyi was transferred away from the Duyi Brigade and served as the director of the Logistics Department of the Jinsui Military Region, and in 1961, Gao Shiyi served as a counselor of the State Council, which was very concerned by the superior leaders.
In 1968, Coats died of illness at the age of 73.