Tombstone of the Silent Martyrs
In the early 1960s, I was still in elementary school
Dong Yaodong
Every year, he would accompany the school teachers to the Martyrs' Cemetery in Beiling, Shenyang, to sweep the graves of the martyrs who died in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
At that time, he had always come as an ordinary memorial, walking many times in front of the silent rows of tombstones.
One of them has a tombstone with the words on it
"Tomb of Comrade Cai Zhengguo of the Martyr"
Dong Yaodong listened to the teacher,
This martyr was the highest-ranking commander of our army who died during the period of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
Photo: "Tomb of The Martyr Comrade Cai Zhengguo"
Dong Yaodong solemnly respected the martyr, and every time he came, he would carefully clean up the weeds around the tombstone with his classmates and wipe the dust between the inscriptions on the stele.
Although he did not know the martyr, every time he passed in front of this tombstone, he always had the feeling of being inexplicably stared at by the tombstone.
At that time, Dong Yaodong did not know that there was a close connection between himself and the martyr. By the time he found out, it was more than a decade later.
The truth after 18 years
Until he was 1971 and 18 years old, Dong Yaodong always believed that his father was the political commissar of the garrison hospital
Dong Fengkui
。 His parents had only one child, and children his age had siblings in their families, but he did not, which was somewhat peculiar in that era of encouraging procreation.
Dong Yaodong was afraid that others would mistakenly think that he would be spoiled as an only child, so he tried his best to temper himself, and for this reason, he joined the army early.
At the age of 18, Dong Yaodong learned his true origin in the army.
Pictured: Dong Yaodong after joining the army
At that time, Dong Yaodong was leading the team training on the playground when he suddenly heard someone shouting his name. The person who came was the director of the political department of his unit, and he ran out of breath, and before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he hurriedly told him:
"Your mother has come to see you, so let's give you a quick explanation of the task and go to Building 49 of Dalian Black Rock Reef!"
Although Dong Yaodong has never been to this address, he has heard that it is
A place dedicated to hosting senior cadres
。
Although his father Dong Fengkui was also a military cadre, his mother
Zhang Bo
But she is just an ordinary housewife, except that she usually seems to be particularly respected by the people around her, and there is nothing special about it.
Why did his mother come to see him and be sent to a high-ranking place?
Dong Yaodong rushed there confused, and as soon as he entered the door, he saw the faces of many chiefs. Dong Yaodong remembers that when he was young, some of the chiefs took him out to play, taught him to distinguish weapons, and taught him to swim. He was young and only interested in having fun, and did not realize the identity of these chiefs.
Seeing now that these chiefs were not as kind as in the past, but very serious, and even with some compassion, Dong Yaodong realized that something important was approaching him.
He also thought that he had made a mistake and was punished, so he heard the first deputy commander of the brigade garrison
Zhao Guotai
Ask:
"Do you know The Red Lantern?"
Dong Yaodong said he knew in a vague way, but he didn't understand what this had to do with calling him here.
Zhao Guotai continued:
"I called you here today because you are an adult, an upright soldier, and it is time to tell you your origins."
His mother, Zhang Bo, was already whimpering at the side, and Dong Yaodong heard Zhao Guotai calmly and forcefully say:
"Xiao Dong, your surname is not Dong, but your surname is Cai, and your biological father's name is Cai Zhengguo, and he is the highest-ranking commander of our army who died in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea."
Cai Zhengguo
Dong Yaodong was still a little dazed after listening to it, and subconsciously went to see his mother Zhang Bo. At the moment when the eyes of the mother and son met, Zhang Bo shed tears uncontrollably, and Dong Yaodong was like a lightning strike, the whole person's mind was blank, and it felt like the heart was going to be pulled together.
Then he spoke excitedly with tears in his eyes for a long time, until the whole person fainted uncontrollably.
After waking up, Dong Yaodong found himself surrounded by the chiefs.
The doctor explained that he fainted because of overstimulation.
The chiefs present were all comrades-in-arms who were born and died together in the past by Cai Zhengguo, and they waited for Dong Yaodong to calm down before telling Dong Yaodong about the past of his biological father.
"Hundred Battles"
He joined the Red Army in 1932, joined the Party organization in the same year, experienced a long twenty-five thousand miles long march, participated in countless battles during the War of Resistance Against Japan and the War of Liberation, and made great contributions to the revolution.
It is a famous "Hundred Warriors Star".
When he first joined the Red Army, he once marched with his troops to Jianchang, but Cai Zhengguo's unit was suddenly attacked by the enemy, and the entire unit fell into the enemy's encirclement. Although the main force of the army was successfully evacuated under the leadership of political commissar Peng Xuefeng, Cai Zhengguo and some of his comrades were separated.
They were captured by the enemy and imprisoned in Nanchang, and could not leave unless they chose to become soldiers of the nationalist army or honestly returned home. The Nationalist soldiers guarding them were a little intimidating, as if they would be shot if they did not choose to join the Nationalists.
The stubborn Cai Zhengguocai did not care so much, resolutely refused to join the nationalist troops, and took the lead in standing up and saying that he wanted to go home.
However, after Cai Zhengguo was released, he did not hesitate to turn around and go to the original troops to meet.
Unfortunately, before he could find the troops, he was caught by the Nationalist army again, forcibly left as a strong man, and gritted his teeth and did hard work for a long time before finally reuniting with the Red Army troops.
Later, on the road of the Long March, Cai Zhengguo was unfortunately shot and injured, there was no doctor or medicine around, he lay on a door panel, let his comrades hold his limbs, and shengsheng dug out the bullet, which saved his life. After Cai Zhengguo, the fever continued to rise, and he was dizzy in front of his eyes, still gritting his teeth and following the troops.
In the end, the comrades-in-arms were really worried about his physical condition, so they took out all the money on his body, took advantage of Cai Zhengguo's rest to leave the money to him, and continued to hurry. By the time Cai Zhengguo woke up, the troops had already gone far.
Cai Zhengguo (left)
He took the money and understood that the troops wanted to give him a chance to return to his hometown to recuperate, but after Cai Zhengguo's experience of separation from the troops, he was unwilling to leave the troops again, so he gritted his teeth and dragged a heavy pace while continuing to chase the troops while inquiring.
Sometimes when he encountered other troops on the road, he would follow him for a while and borrow medicine to heal his wounds.
Like a miracle, Cai Zhengguo's injuries healed on the way. A month later, Cai Zhengguo finally caught up with the troops and never left until he died.
Iron bone soft intestine
In fact, Dong Yaodong was not an only child, before he was born,
His biological parents also had two children, a woman and a man.
His mother, Zhang Bo, was originally a lady of the landlord's family, who resolutely left home for the revolution and became acquainted with Cai Zhengguo after coming to northern Shaanxi. Cai Zhengguo was originally married, but he did not return home for more than ten years for the revolution, and his original wife had to remarry. When he saw his ex-wife again, he didn't mind it, but gently asked her if she was doing well.
After Cai Zhengguo and Zhang Bo met each other, Zhang Bo was very fond of this iron-boned and tender man, and Cai Zhengguo also liked Zhang Bo's enlightened and progressive ideas, and the two quickly came together to form a family and a first daughter.
But when the child was about to be born, the troops were pursued by the enemy,
Zhang Bo gave birth to the child with difficulty, but there was not enough milk to feed her, and only got the milk from the hometown family, which was borrowed to 24 families in a row, but the child, who was only one month old, eventually starved to death.
This incident hit Cai Zhengguo and Zhang Bo very hard, until Dong Yaodong's brother
Cai Sidong
At birth, the sadness of the two was alleviated. The couple poured infinite love into Xiao Sidong, and Cai Zhengguo, who was transferred to the deputy commander of the 50th Army during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, always wrote letters to his wife and always asked about the situation of his children with concern.
Pictured: Cai Zhengguo with his wife Zhang Bo and eldest son Cai Sidong
After Dong Yaodong learned of his origins, he went home and found a long-sealed tin box, which had been growing up with him, but before that he did not know how the box came from, nor had he ever opened it.
Now he finally opened the box, as if opening a door to his father's past.
The box contained what Cai Zhengguo had obtained during his lifetime
Military Merit Badge
and
Various letters of appointment
This includes the one during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. Besides
There are also letters written by fathers to his wife during his time in North Korea.
In almost every letter, Cai Zhengguo had to inquire about the latest situation of his wife and Xiao Sidong in detail, and he also said in the letter
"The good health of your mother and child is the greatest comfort to me"
。 This father, who had done his best in the midst of his children's love, made Dong Yaodong see tears in his eyes.
He also saw a section about himself in a letter written in 1953.
At that time, he had just been born, and his father could not return from far away in North Korea, so he could only write a letter to inquire, and also asked his wife for advice in a letter of March 27.
I hope to name my younger son "Xiaodong".
However, 16 days after the letter was written, Cai Zhengguo was killed by enemy aircraft while busy with the marching deployment at night.
In the tin box, Dong Yaodong also saw the wool vest that his father wore when he died.
There were two very clear bullet holes and some blackened blood, each of which was fatally wounded. His hands trembled as he held the garment, and it was hard to imagine in what mood his mother would receive it and treasure it here.
Pictured: Blood coat with bullet holes clearly visible
Originally, his mother, Zhang Bo, planned to take her young son, who was full moon, to North Korea to reunite with her husband
Even all kinds of formalities were done, but what arrived earlier than the departure date was the death of her husband. She has not yet been able to come out of the shadow of grief,
A year later, he lost his eldest son, who was only 7 years old, in a car accident.
That grief, Dong Yaodong couldn't help but cry just by imagining it.
Never gone
Dong Yaodong's adoptive father
He is a person with a good heart.
His mother was slow to come out after the death of her father, and did not remarry until 6 years later, under the persuasion of the organization.
Dong Fengkui respected Cai Zhengguo very much, and before marrying Zhang Bo, he deliberately ran to Cai Zhengguo's tomb to swear an oath and told Cai Zhengguo that he would spend the rest of his life taking good care of Zhang Bo's mother and son.
Pictured: Dong Fengkui and Zhang Bo mother and son
In order to avoid Xiaodong being constantly questioned because of his different surnames
Dong Fengkui consulted with his wife and first asked Xiaodong to take his surname. At the same time, in order not to let the adopted son care in his heart,
Dong Fengkui and Zhang Bo did not have any children after marriage
This made Dong Yaodong think that he was an only child.
When the adopted son knows his origins,
Dong Fengkui solemnly summoned his adopted son to him and advised him to restore his original surname. Dong Yaodong also became Cai Xiaodong.
Cai Xiaodong was not found in his father's relics
Certificate of Revolutionary Martyrs
After asking the mother, I learned that the mother did not know that there was this thing, so she did not go to get it. Cai Xiaodong ran around to apply for this certificate for his father,
He originally only wanted a proof of identity, who knew that after receiving the certificate, he also received a pension from the organization.
Photo: Zhang Bo speaks at the memorial service on behalf of the martyrs' families
This made Cai Xiaodong blush at once, standing there helpless.
He just wanted an identity certificate, not a pension.
Cai Xiaodong, who has a strong sense of self-esteem, is worried that others will mistakenly think that he is just for money, and for a long time he will not be able to sit on this pension.
It wasn't until he doubled the money to the cemetery where his father was buried that Cai Xiaodong was relieved.
He was grateful for the careful care of his adoptive father Dong Fengkui, and he was also very proud of his biological father Cai Zhengguo's life. Later, with the support of his mother and adoptive father, he traveled to his biological father's hometown and the places he had traveled, and heard many, many stories about his father.
In those fragments of history, Cai Zhengguo's image is becoming more and more plump. Although he was absent from Cai Xiaodong's boyhood, Cai Xiaodong looked at his tombstone in the cemetery and felt that he had never been far away.
Photo: Cai Xiaodong with his father's tombstone
Cai Xiaodong knew that he could have a stable and happy life without the heroic ancestors who sacrificed for the country like his father. He will spend his life paying tribute to and remembering those heroes.