On December 9, 1947, in Macheng, Hubei Province, Chen Xilian, commander of the Third Column of the Jinji-Hebei Luyu People's Liberation Army, was busy nervously in the war room. In August of that year, under the instructions of the Central Military Commission, Liu Deng's army leapt thousands of miles into the Dabie Mountains, directly into the heart of the Chiang Family Dynasty, and opened up the Dabie Mountain base area. In order to "encircle and suppress" Liu Deng's army, Chiang Kai-shek mobilized hundreds of thousands of troops, and the two armies engaged in battle, and the battle situation was very fierce. In order to cooperate with the military operations of the Pinghan Campaign, the three columns moved from western Anhui to Macheng, and the time was pressing, and Chen Xilian had not closed his eyes for a day and a night.
Just as Chen Xilian was concentrating on studying the battle plan, the telephone of the headquarters suddenly rang, and Chief Of Staff Zhao picked up the phone, and after hearing the contents of the telephone, he shouted with joy, which immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the headquarters. Chief Of Staff Zhao was a little embarrassed and said to Chen Xilian: "
Commander, two good news, your brother has been sought out by the Sixth Column as a guide, and the old lady is coming to see you today.
”
Chen Xilian put down the map in his hand and looked at Chief Staff Chief Zhao with doubtful eyes. So, Chief Of Staff Zhao described the contents of the phone in detail...
Chen Xilian
The farmer led the way and suddenly spoke: My brother's name is Chen Xilian
One day in December 1947, when the Sixth Column was supporting the front line operations and passing through the area of Huang'an (present-day Hong'an) in Hubei Province, he did not know much about the local terrain, so he asked a local farmer to help lead the way. When the troops were about to walk out of Huang'an after several hours of trekking, the farmer suddenly said, "I can only take you here, there is still an old mother at home, and she is not at ease when she is away from home for too long." ”
Most of the soldiers of the Sixth Column were peasants, and they understood the brother's difficulties, but they could not help but be a little curious, and asked: "Are you the only one in the family?" Where are the other siblings? ”
The farmer scratched his head in embarrassment and replied, ".
There is still an older brother in the family, but he joined the Red Army at the age of fourteen, and then did not come back, 18 years have passed, I heard that a People's Liberation Army passed by Huang'an, so I came out to inquire about the whereabouts of my brother, and I met you.
The People's Liberation Army marches
Many soldiers thought of their own experiences and asked with great interest, "What is your brother's name?" Maybe we know. ”
“
My brother's name is Chen Xilian, and I heard that he was a great hero who blew up the Japanese airfield! Do you know his news?
"A glimmer of hope burns in the hearts of the peasants.
Chen Xilian? Commander of the Three Columns?
The soldiers of the Sixth Column looked at each other, and the person in front of them was actually Commander Chen's younger brother? The soldiers did not dare to be idle, and immediately reported the matter to the head of the column.
When Chief Staff Chief Zhao finished telling the story, Chen Xilian fell into contemplation, yes, he had been away from his hometown for 18 years, and he didn't know what happened to his mother and brother at home. During this march and war, Macheng was no more than a hundred miles away from Huang'an, but he still couldn't find time to go home to visit his relatives. His mind went back to his childhood, searching for memories of his mother and brother...
From "cattle herding" to "small steel cannon"
In 1915, Chen Xilian was born in Pengjia Village, Gaoqiao Town, Huang'an, Hubei Province, to a poor peasant family, with two older sisters above him. In order to maintain the family's livelihood, Chen Xilian's father also had to work some odd jobs near the village in addition to farming.
However, the weather was unpredictable, during a work trip, Chen's father was unfortunately smashed to death, and when his father died, his mother was pregnant with Chen Xilian's younger brother.
In order not to drag down the extended family, the mother separated her four children and made a living by farming and doing odd jobs, and one person took care of the four children with hard work to grow up, and life was very difficult.
In order to reduce the burden on the family, the young Chen Xilian ran to the landlord's house to herd cattle, and a thin figure always appeared on the hillside behind the village. However, no matter how cautious and conscientious he was, or how he could not escape the insults and scolding of the landlord, he really could not bear to run away and go home, and the mother looked at her scaly son and said painfully: "We are not going." ”
However, under the pressure of life, the mother still bowed her head and took the children out to beg. Her distant uncle Chen Zhibin, deceived and deceived, ran amok in the township, believing that the Mother and Son of the Chen family had lost his face, beat Mother Chen badly, scolded and grinned, and left.
The Red Army fought against the "six-way encirclement and suppression" campaign
When is such a day a head?
Chen Xilian, 14, clenched his fists tightly and decided to sign up for the army to eliminate harm for the people.
Huang'an County is the land of red, and there have been vigorous jute uprisings. Inspired by the red forces, late one night, Chen Xilian quietly relieved his mother from escaping, tied to the thread in his hand, joined the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, and officially became a member of the revolutionary ranks.
Chen Xilian was young and enthusiastic, and full of ambition, and soon stood out in the Red Army led by Xu Xiangqian. In 1930, the Red First Army went out of Pinghan Road three times and severely damaged the Kuomintang army, and Chen Xi fought bravely and won the "Victory"
Small steel cannon
" is the name of the good name.
In November 1931, the Battle of Huang'an began, and Chen Xilian was a short distance away from home, but due to the urgency of the war, he did not have time to go home to see his mother, so he once again went to the front line to fight. In October 1933, during the Red Fourth Front's anti-Sixth Route "encirclement and suppression" operation, Chen Xilian led the 263rd Regiment to charge and beat the Sichuan warlords to pieces.
After the battle, Chen Xilian was promoted to political commissar of the 11th Division of the 4th Army, and this year he had just turned 18 years old and achieved such a prominent feat.
Japanese bombing
Night attack on Yangming Fort, play a famous work
Chen Xilian's famous work was the night attack on Yangmingbao during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, which was one of the most brilliant battles during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.
Chen Xilian led the soldiers to attack the airfield at night, destroying 24 Japanese aircraft, dealing a heavy blow to the arrogance of the Japanese army and effectively supporting the friendly forces in the frontal battlefield.
After the outbreak of the Lugou Bridge Incident in 1937, the Japanese army drove straight in and launched an attack on Shanxi, and the huge Battle of Taiyuan began. During the Battle of Taiyuan, the Eighth Route Army united the anti-Japanese armed forces and won a complete victory in the Battle of Pingxingguan, and soon after, the Battle of Xinkou began, and the main forces of the Kuomintang 200,000 troops and the Eighth Route Army fought jointly to slow down the pace of the Japanese attack, and the night attack on Yangmingbao occurred during the Battle of Xinkou.
In October 1937, Chen Xilian led the 769th Regiment of the 385th Brigade of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army to the village of Sulangkou south of Dai County, Shanxi. After the troops entered the village, Chen Xilian saw that there were Japanese planes flying overhead from time to time, so he asked his compatriots: "Where did these planes come from?" The fellow replied: "Nearby Yangmingbao Town, where the enemy built an airfield, it should have flown from there." ”
Enemy airfields nearby? Chen Xilian's heart was a little itchy, and he recalled what Master Liu Bocheng had told him when he was leaving:
After arriving in Jinbei, we must be cautious and cautious, and we must also actively look for fighters, find out the situation, deploy thoughtfully, and the action is suddenly crisp!
Chen Xilian thought to himself, this is a great opportunity, so he told the soldiers the idea of sneaking into the Japanese airfield, and the soldiers rubbed their fists and prepared to do a big job.
In order to find out the internal deployment and external vigilance of the enemy's airfield, Chen Xilian visited a regimental commander of the Jin Sui Army. The regimental commander was a "instigator", and when he learned that Chen Xilian was going to sneak up on the airport, he hurriedly persuaded: "The imperial army is not good to mess with!" Not to mention that their planes, like long eyes, were bombarding our troops, and now our people only had one company left! ”
Night attack on Yangming Fort
Chen Xilian did not expect that the regimental commander could say such a depressing remark without blushing, so he hurriedly resigned, and led several battalion commanders of the regiment to the top of Yangmingbao for on-the-spot investigation, and finally found out the law of action of the enemy planes.
On the night of October 19, the night attack on Yangmingbao began. Under the command of Chen Xilian, the 11th Company was responsible for the main attack, and the 10th Company provided cover to launch a fierce attack on the enemy. After clearing the defenders, the soldiers stuffed grenades into the belly of the aircraft, and then pulled the grenades, and for a time, the Yangmingbao airport was in flames, and the explosions were endless.
In less than an hour, all 24 enemy planes were destroyed.
After the battle, Chen Xilian was commended by the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army, and his photograph was printed in the newspaper to publicize his deeds to the people of the whole country. Thousands of miles away in Pengjia Village, Gaoqiao Town, Huang'an, Hubei Province, Chen Xilian's mother held a newspaper, shed tears of excitement, and said to the youngest son next to her:
This is your brother! He's alive! He has become a big hero!
Only then did she know why her son had joined the army, and what could be more painful than driving away the Japanese invaders? But she also thought that her son had not returned for several years, and she did not know what the situation was on the front line, and as a mother, she could not help but feel a little sad.
Women begging for food in the old society
Mother and son met 18 years later
In December 1947, Chen Xilian led three columns to fight in Macheng, only more than 100 miles away from home, but the war ahead was urgent, Chen Xilian could not go home, and worked out a battle plan day and night.
If it were not for his brother to lead the way for the sixth column, I am afraid that he would have missed the opportunity for mother and son to meet.
When the commander of the Sixth Column learned of this situation, he immediately sent soldiers to send Chen Xilian's mother to the Third Column Headquarters to meet Chen Xilian. As soon as Chen Xilian's mother entered the door, the soldiers gathered around and jokingly said, "Old Mother, who do you think we are your sons?" ”
Chen Xilian's mother smiled and waved her hand: "I recognize, I recognize, neither of you is." ”
At this time, Chen Xilian walked out of the house and shouted; "Mother! ”
Mother Chen pounced desperately, clasped Chen Xilian's hand tightly, and choked up: "
Oh, yes! This is my son! The appearance has not changed, it is darker than before, and it is also fatter!
Chen Xilian invited his mother to the house, asked for warmth, and when he recalled his past, his mother still did not sigh very much: "In the second year after you left, Chiang Kai-shek's bandit gang came and said that I was a family member of the Red Army and stole my eating bowl. Later, I heard that the Red Army had returned, and I begged for food all the way to look for you, and almost fell ill and died on the road..."
Chen Xilian listened to his mother narrate the past, recalled his mother's hardships, and couldn't help but shed tears.
The next day, the three columns were about to be pulled out, and Chen Xilian was not worried about his mother, and asked, "Mother, do you see what else you need?" ”
The mother shook her head and said, "
Seeing you, the mother doesn't want anything, as long as you are at ease to fight and destroy the enemy
。 ”
Chen Xi secretly stuffed two silver dollars in his mother's pocket, watched his mother leave, and led his troops to a new battlefield.