In April 2009, a 104-year-old farmer in Daliangshan, Sichuan Province, died peacefully.
Although he was a local during his lifetime
The station manager of the grain station
But before his death, he told his children that they must deal with his affairs as low as possible.
The children did. As they were tidying up their father's room, they found a box in the corner and opened it to see that it was inside
More than 50 military medals
, which includes
10 medals of merit, first class
and
12 medals of merit, second class
！
Military Merit Badge
My father was just a grain station manager before he was born, where did he get so many military medals?
The children only knew that their father had been a soldier for a while, but they had never heard him say that he had made meritorious achievements. They were startled and called the police. With the help of the police, the children found out their father's past, which made them aware of his father's identity that had been hidden for more than 50 years.
The old man's name was
Shaw Wanshi
The medals he had hidden in the corner box were earned when he was a soldier in his early years, and there were 10 first-class merit medals and 12 second-class merit medals. It should be known that the military merit medal of the PLA troops is not easy to obtain, and unless it is a very significant contribution, it is difficult to obtain the honorary medal of second-class merit or above. Not to mention the first-class meritorious medals, so when Xiao Wanshi's children found that the more than 50 military merit medals included many first- and second-class medals, they would be so surprised.
Why did Xiao Wanshi, who had such outstanding military achievements, become an obscure grain station manager?
The story also begins with Xiao Wanshi's joining the army.
Xiao Wanshi was 32 years old when he joined the army. He was born in Xingtai, Hebei Province, to a very poor family, but his parents raised a total of 5 children, including Xiao Wanshi. This made the already poor family worse, Xiao Wanshi brothers and sisters 5 people, none of whom had read a book. This also made Xiao Wanshi in his early thirties and unable to marry his daughter-in-law.
However, although the family is so poor that they can't eat, the feelings of the Xiao Wanshi family are very good, and the days are a little bitter, but everyone is self-sufficient, supports each other, and life is getting better little by little, and the Xiao Wanshi family is still full of hope for the future.
But the good times did not last long, and the accident suddenly happened. On July 7, 1937, the Japanese Kou launched the "July 7 Incident" and began to invade Chinese territory on a large scale, creating one tragic case after another in this mountain and river. The Hebei region soon fell, and the Japanese Kou continued to carry out large-scale sweeps here, burning and looting, and doing all kinds of evil. Often, after robbing the people of their food, the Japanese would drag the young and powerful men to hard labor and then set fire to their houses. Many villages that were once harmonious and quiet have been ravaged by the Japanese Kou and have been reduced to ruins.
The July 7 Incident
The village where Xiao Wanshi's family lived was destroyed during the Japanese Kou raid. Rikou wantonly slaughtered the villagers in the village, and Xiao Wanshi's parents and sister were blocked in their houses and set on fire. Xiao Wanshi's brothers joined the guerrillas in the village and fought to the death against these vicious invaders, but soon fell behind. Xiao Wanshi's eldest brother died tragically, and the second brother's life and death were unknown, leaving Xiao Wanshi alone to escape from the village.
He had also joined the village guerrilla group under the guidance of his eldest brother and second brother, but he was not as good as the two brothers. Xiao Wanshi did not know where to go after escaping from the village, and looked back blankly to see that the village that gave birth to him and his family was now in a sea of fire. Xiao Wanshi thought desperately that he would never have a home in this world. Xiao Wanshi had always firmly believed that there must be a reason for God to let him survive. This principle is to avenge the fathers and fellow villagers of the whole village.
The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression
The best way to get revenge is to join the army.
Xiao Wanshi left his hometown and looked around for the army. Soon after, Xiao Wanshi joined the Eighth Route Army and became a recruit of the 772nd Regiment of the 386th Brigade. At that time, the Eighth Route Army had not yet built its own military factory, the overall equipment was very backward, and the weapon Xiao Wanshi received after joining the army was only a knife, and he could not even touch the gun. After using it for a while, Xiao Wanshi always felt that there were too many knives and it was very laborious to wield, so he made a long gun by himself.
Since no guns were assigned, Xiao Wanshi was not assigned to the front line and could only be responsible for reconnaissance work. Xiao Wanshi was very sorry that he could not blade the enemy by hand, but he respected the arrangement of the troops, even if he was just a scout, he was dutiful and dutiful, and he deserved to look like him. Once, Xiao Wanshi and other scout comrades were patrolling near the station, and when they reached the riverbank, they suddenly heard the sound of someone talking. They ambushed and quietly leaned over to see that it was a group of Japanese kos who had run into the river to take a bath. It was a Japanese squad, about 10 people, all stripped naked and standing in the water taking a bath. Their vigilance was not high, and they even put their uniforms and weapons on the banks of the river far away from them.
The comrades-in-arms wanted to go back to report to the troops immediately, but they were stopped by Xiao Wanshi. When Xiao Wanshi saw those guns, his eyes lit up. The weapons were his when they were captured. Xiao Wanshi restrained his excitement and whispered to his comrades-in-arms:
"Look! Those guns are ours! ”
These comrades, who had never touched a gun like him, understood what he meant and became excited. Xiao Wanshi quietly touched the bank of the river, took the guns back and distributed them to his comrades, and then everyone stood up together and strafed at the Japanese in the water. Before Riko could react, he was beaten into a sieve. Although according to the military discipline of the Eighth Route Army, all collected weapons were handed over. However, in order to praise them, Xiao Wanshi's company commander did not let them hand over their guns, and also let the bold and careful Xiao Wanshi become the squad leader and go to the front.
Xiao Wanshi was greatly encouraged, and when he fought, he had a kind of fierceness like a life, often carrying a gun on the battlefield, and the enemies who were facing him were often very miserable. And he rubbed shoulders with death countless times, and finally he was safe and sound, and his comrades-in-arms admired him very much. Xiao Wanshi was also quickly approved to join the party with his outstanding battlefield performance. Xiao Wanshi's more than 50 military merit medals were won by him in fighting the enemy again and again on the battlefield.
The more meritorious contributions, the faster the natural rise. After the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Xiao Wanshi successively participated in the campaigns of crossing the river and liberating Leizhou, from a scout to a squad leader of a front-line unit, and from a squad leader to a platoon leader. The head of the unit admired him as a capable warrior and felt that his future would not be simple.
If this is the case, then why did Xiao Wanshi later become an obscure grain station manager?
It turned out that after Xiao Wanshi became a platoon leader, he was quickly dismissed for making a mistake. At that time, it was already after the founding of New China, and Xiao Wanshi went with his troops to the Yunnan region to suppress bandits. The people here love to smoke opium and do not change their teachings. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the government stepped up its efforts to ban opium consumption. However, after a period of prohibition, it was found that opium was still hidden in some rural areas.
Xiao Wanshi's team was arranged to go to the people's homes to suppress the bandits in addition to suppressing the bandits. He turned over a considerable amount of opium in an old woman's house, but when she confiscated it, the old woman held him and wept bitterly, saying that she was sick and must rely on opium to alleviate her suffering. Xiao Wanshi saw her acting so pitifully, remembering his mother who had died earlier, and when his heart softened, he left some opium.
Opium addicts
Although he was well-intentioned, he violated the military discipline of the troops and was quickly punished. Although Xiao Wanshi regretted it, he was an open-minded person, and indeed he had made mistakes, and he knew that he had made mistakes and changed them, and he quickly perked up. And soon after, Xiao Wanshi met the love of his life, Xia Qifang, while harvesting opium.
At this time, Xiao Wanshi was more than 50 years old, but Xia Qifang was in miaoling, plus her family was a landlord, and although the two fell in love at first sight, they were blocked by the two sides of the army and Xia Qifang's father. Xiao Wanshi was an anti-Japanese hero, but he was also an ordinary person, and after he realized that he was in love with Xia Qifang, he made up his mind that he would rather be punished again than marry her. The same was true for Xia Qifang, she had identified Xiao Wanshi, a good man, and no matter how big the age difference between them was, she also walked to him without hesitation.
The Shaw Family
The family feud had been repaid, and there were people who loved each other around him, and Xiao Wanshi felt that he was satisfied in this life, so he submitted an application for discharge to the army. Although in the last few years of his military service, Xiao Wanshi made many mistakes, but the organization remembered his outstanding military achievements, or after he was discharged from the army, he was assigned to the grain bureau in Liangshan, Sichuan Province, and arranged a good job. Xiao Wanshi became the director of the grain station, and his work was idle, but at least his salary was good, and he had no worries about food and clothing.
Although he was no longer a soldier, Xiao Wanshi's soft heart "old problem" had not changed. Once, the grain station caught a thief, and after interrogation, it was found that the other party was only too hungry to bear because the family was poor, so he ventured to steal the food. Xiao Wanshi was very sympathetic to this man's plight, so he let him go, and as a result, he was punished again, and he almost couldn't even keep his position as the head of the grain station. However, later, Xiao Wanshi's official position was still getting lower and lower, but he never complained to anyone, and his experience as a soldier never told others, nor did he let his wife tell others. As a result, his children only knew that their father had been a soldier, but they did not know how brave he was on the battlefield.
Later, the state searched for veterans across the country, and the local government staff found Xiao Wanshi and wanted to ask him what needed help in his life. Xiao Wanshi remembered the war-torn past and the dead comrades- His eyes were moist, and he replied that he could safely retire from the battlefield and live a happy family, where he needed other help. He was already very satisfied.
People who are content and happy are more long-lived. Such is the case with Shaw Wanshi. His life was as long as 104 years, he experienced war, witnessed the establishment and rise of new China, and finally passed away peacefully in April 2009 after entering a new era. His last words were brief, and he must be kept as low-key as possible in dealing with his aftermath.
Kind and tolerant, low-key and brave, The Old Man Xiao Wanshi is a true hero with iron bones, but he is unknown. Hats off to the elderly Shaw Wanshi!