preface
Marshal Xu Qianqian is definitely a rare general in the history of our army, and what is even more rare is that this marshal has not become extravagant because of his military achievements, but he is also known for his frugality in life.
Discuss with subordinates before a meeting because they do not buy a coat.
Now please join me to see how this marshal has made frugality throughout his life, and what is he so frugal about? At the same time, did his last wish before his death come true?
Marshal Xu Qianqian
The commander of the "impersonal" one, a box accompanies a lifetime
Xu Xiangqian and Yan Xishan are fellow villagers, and their two families are only separated by a river, and they can reach each other's homes from a few miles away. And these two also have some "master and apprentice" titles, and Xu Xiangqian was also founded in Yan Xishan
I studied at the National National Normal School of Shanxi Province, so much so that when the Red Army beat Chiang Kai-shek to the trouble, Yan Xishan, who heard the news, laughed and said, "This Xu Xiangqian is not bad!" Hundreds of thousands of Chiang Kai-shek's army could not destroy the Red Army, and could not eliminate Xu Xiangqian of Wutai in Shanxi. He also said to his subordinates: "If only I had left this Wutai villager behind, I didn't expect that a son of Xiucai would become a general, and if I had the opportunity, I would definitely have a good conversation with him." ”
Xu Xiangqian
But Yan Xishan couldn't have imagined that it was his fellow countrymen who overthrew the warlords of his old era...
In October 1948, Xu Xiangqian, who was seriously ill, led his troops to command the Battle of Taiyuan, and on March 29, 1949, at the Honggou Airport, the elderly Yan Xishan, knowing that he could not resist the attack of the people's army, quickly boarded the plane to Nanjing, and behind his departure was the Shanxi he had built for 38 years.
After Yan Xishan left, his party stubbornly resisted, but under the leadership of Xu Xiangqian, 5 hours after the liberation of Nanjing, the people's army liberated Taiyuan, and 6 days later the whole territory of Shanxi was liberated, and the war in North China was eliminated from then on.
After Xu Xiangqian liberated Taiyuan, his new problems also appeared, and the first of them was the "poor relatives" in the countryside, who regarded the People's Liberation Army as a bureaucrat of the old era, thinking that there was actually a commander in their hometown, and immediately wanted Xu Xiangqian to help them one or two, and among these "poor relatives" were those who had never met before, who met in Pingshui, and who also had brothers and sisters, who knew xu xiangqian and were moved by them, hoping that they would be at ease to work in agriculture, and also said the policy of the Communist Party. Ask them to let their children study hard, and they will be of great use in the future.
Such painstaking exhortation did not persuade everyone, who believed that it did not stain Xu Xiangqian's light, saying that he was "unkind" and "the six relatives did not recognize", but instead slandered everywhere, and wanted to tie Xu Xiangqian to the moral high ground for criticism. But Xu Xiangqian did not pay attention to this, as a communist fighter, if nepotism, it will make him more painful.
But Xu Xiangqian is a human after all, and he will also be embarrassed, and what makes him embarrassed is his two sisters.
At the beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Eighth Route Army at this time was in urgent need of expansion of strength, and Xu Xiangqian's two sisters handed over their children to him and participated in the revolution, but there was no eye on the battlefield, and his two nephews still died in a pool of blood, and this incident also made Xu Xiangqian dare not face the two sisters.
After losing their son, the two sisters' bodies gradually weakened, and the farm work was not good, and Xu Xiangqian's two sisters found him.
At the dinner table, Xu Xiangqian was very happy to see the two sisters, and deliberately let people have an extra dish, but despite this, the dinner table was also some wild vegetables and miscellaneous grains such as radish wisps, willow leaves and nest heads, and there was no meat, and when the sister proposed to get some assistance, Xu Xiangqian's face sank.
Xu Xiangqian said bitterly, "I am a poor commander with an empty name!" We in the Communist Party all do things for the common people, and we cannot do things for ourselves. You come, you can only stay for a few days, I don't have anything to eat, you eat whatever I eat. I don't have anything for you, everything is public!"
As for this, the two sisters did not say anything, and since then, no one has gone to Xu Xiangqian to "seek an official" in front of them.
Not only that, Xu Xiangqian is even more simple in life.
In Xu Xiangqian's home there is a white wooden box, that is, made of a few pieces of wood, not even paint, this wooden board still has a raw edge, it is very hard, in the war period, after various wars, this box is even more dilapidated.
At this time, Xu Xiangqian's family came a new civil servant, the civil servant saw this box at a glance, in fact, this box is difficult to see, it is too broken, everywhere it looks dazzling, the civil servant kindly took out the documents in the box, threw the old box outside, and bought a box on the stall to put the documents in.
At this time, Xu Xiangqian, who was out of town, came back, he took the broken box back with one hand, stopped the hand of the civil servant with the other hand, and said: "Your heart is good, but this box can still be used, this newly bought box you take away and use, the country is still under construction, we have to save money!" ”
In 1950, Xu Xiangqian rushed to Beijing to attend a conference, because of the geographical conditions of Beijing, the price of local goods was relatively cheap, and the price of suitcases was also affordable to ordinary urban families. The secretary looked at the old chief still holding the worn-out box, and yu couldn't bear to say to Xu Xiangqian: "Chief, let's go to Beijing for a meeting, the local price is cheap, let's buy a leather bag, first, you can take it, and second, it is also beautiful." Indeed, at this time, Xu Xiangqian was completely worthy of a leather bag, and it was really not good to always hold the broken wooden box.
But Xu Xiangqian was dismissive of this: "Still don't buy it, this wooden box has followed me for a long time, he has seen anyone, what is there to be ashamed of." After turning his head, he saw the secretary's slightly frustrated face, and he said his thoughts: "Last year, there were disasters in many places, we can save a little, and the excess part can make them live better." "After saying that, I went out to the meeting without looking back."
Marshal Xu Qianqian after the founding of the People's Republic of China
He has been diligent and thrifty all his life, and refuses to spend money on a coat
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, material life has been greatly improved, but Xu Xiangqian is still as simple as ever, in the early 50s, Xu Xiangqian led a delegation to Moscow to discuss arms purchases, before going to Moscow was still early summer, due to the hot weather, several members of the delegation wore thin military uniforms to Russia. More than four months have passed since the negotiations have progressed slowly, and it is september in Moscow, and the cold wind outside the window is howling, which often blows cold winds into the house is very uncomfortable.
Xu Xiangqian (right)
But at this time, the temperature in Moscow is still normal throughout the year, because the Moscow dimension is far north, and with the blessing of the Siberian cold current, the weather will only become colder with time, and the winter in Moscow can freeze people to death.
The comrade in charge of managing life then asked Xu Xiangqian for instructions, hoping to ask for some funds to make a set of winter clothes for everyone in Moscow to solve the problem of severe cold. This matter is not complicated, and the cost is not large, if it is someone else, it will be agreed, but Xu Xiangqian did not agree, he considered that he spent a huge amount of foreign exchange for the purchase of weapons for the country this time, so he asked the comrades of the embassy to tell the messenger to and from Moscow, hoping that when he returned to Moscow, he would take the winter clothes of the members of the delegation from Beijing with him, and also specifically said to which comrade: "I have a coat in my family, remember to bring him over." ”
Some comrades did not understand this, he thought that a coat does not cost much money, in Moscow to buy immediately can be put on, there is no need to use their own body to resist the cold, he said to Xu Xiangqian: "Xu Boss, you buy a coat, it is not much more expensive." Your health is not good, hurry up and buy it for you, you can't warm up a little. ”
Xu Xiangqian said: "I have a coat at home, why do I want to buy it here?" Wool is expensive here, the wages are expensive, now we are here to buy weapons, spend all foreign exchange, we all have to pay gold! Now our country needs foreign exchange to build, can not spend money as much as possible not to spend, when we will be rich in the future, the money that should not be spent can not be spent indiscriminately! He also said: "If you look at the new prosperity and decline of each dynasty in history, success is caused by thrift and thrift, and which of those decaying dynasties is not extravagant?" ”
Xu Xiangqian (second from left)
It is precisely because Xu Xiangqian's spirit has infected everyone that comrades have also given up the idea of buying winter clothes. By the time the messenger had delivered the winter coat, Moscow had cooled down, and Xu Xiangqian was overjoyed, he put on his patched coat, and he couldn't wait to study the work of buying weapons.
After Xu Xiangqian finished handling the purchase of weapons, he went to the field to heal his wounds, and one day on the way back to the nursing home, he found that there was no car on the road, so he asked the secretary: "Why are there so few locals?" I didn't see a few along the way. After saying that, without waiting for the secretary to answer, Xu Xiangqian saw that there seemed to be a police car in front of him, and angrily said to the driver: "Stop! ”
He said to his secretary: "I have come to recuperate, and there is no urgency, so why disturb the lives of the masses?" After that, police cars could no longer be allowed to open the road. After saying that, he went back to the nursing home.
In 1956, the friend spread the newly purchased carpet to Xu Xiangqian's home, and the children were very happy with the soft blanket, jumping and jumping on the carpet, but when they were happy, their father frowned and asked the secretary: "This carpet should be quite expensive, how much do you say?" The secretary shook his head, lowered his head and did not speak. In my heart, I thought: "They are all senior state cadres, it should be a small thing to lay a blanket in the living room, and no one has stipulated that the carpet is not allowed to be put, isn't it?" ”
The next day, Xu Xiangqian said to his secretary: "I heard that the guest house that was just built lacked carpets, is it true?" The secretary said, "You don't have to worry about this, they'll buy it, and it's not expensive." Xu Xiangqian said: "It is not expensive and it is also money, and this new carpet is definitely not cheap, so send me this carpet over." The secretary was a little surprised and said reluctantly: "A guest house does not lack this carpet, it can..."
Xu Xiangqian directly interrupted the secretary's conversation, and he said righteously: "Now the country is not rich, and every steel plate must be spent on construction." ”
The secretary finally understood the marshal's painstaking heart and sent the carpet out on the same day.
One day, the old subordinate just got married and took his wife to see Xu Xiangqian, and her wife saw Xu Xiangqian for the first time, so she admired Xu Xiangqian very much. In her mind, a high-ranking state cadre like this must be a group of guards, living in high-end western-style buildings.
Following her husband, she walked to a small alleyway with rusty iron doors and peeling walls, feeling more dilapidated than her own home. While waiting at the knock, an old man dressed in blue opened the door for them, and the old man was looking at them kindly.
Xu inspected the work in his later years
The wife looked at the old man, nodded to him, and walked home. Her husband hurriedly took her hand and asked, "Why don't you say hello to the chief?" The wife thought to herself, yes, the one who can show the marshal the gate must be a chief. She didn't think much of it, smiled at the old man in blue, even if it was a hello, and then she was going to go home again. Her husband was in a hurry at this time, and said to the old man, "Hello chief, she is my lover." ”
The old man in blue smiled and didn't care, so he invited them in, and when he got to the living room, his wife saw that there was no one else in the room except her, her husband, and the old man in blue, so she asked her husband: "Why hasn't Marshal Xu come yet?" The husband was a little flustered, pulling his wife and muttering quietly: "Don't look for it, this is Xu Shuai!" ”
The bride almost screamed, and her little face turned like a small stove and turned red. She couldn't have imagined that this famous Xu Shuai was actually more ordinary than ordinary people.
In the heart of Xu Xiaoyan, the son of Xu Qianqian, his father has always been the direction of their hearts. In Xu Xiaoyan's memory, the interaction between his father and his comrades-in-arms was very simple. "At that time, my father was recuperating in Beidaihe because of his injury, and several old subordinates went to visit and chatted for half a day to get to the meal point, at which time my father cooked a large pot of porridge, and then put in noodles, potatoes, and beans, and ate with his subordinates in large vests, without a little shelf."
Xu Xiangqian's family
And Xu Xiangqian, who has always been accustomed to coarse tea and light rice, has to eat the nest head once or twice a week, and at the same time maintains the habit of eating wild vegetables, that is, this wild vegetable makes Xu Xiaoyan make a joke. At that time, Xu Xiaoyan's wife went to the house as a guest, and after returning home, her wife's mother, out of curiosity, asked them what they had eaten at Marshal Xu's house so that they could open their eyes.
The wife said very honestly: "I can't remember what it is, it's all green, I can't tell what it is, I know I ate a bunch of 'grass'." The mother felt very curious, so she asked Xu Xiaoyan, "Why do you want to eat grass?" Xu Xiaoyan smiled and said, "We ate the table, a table of wild vegetables." After saying that, the three people on the field laughed.
In addition to eating simply, Marshal Xu Qianqian also played the word simplicity to the fullest in terms of dress. Once, when Xu Qianqian went to inspect the naval unit, he was wearing a faded dress, and the naval soldier looked at his brightly colored clothes and asked in amazement: "Are the marshals all dressed like this?" ”
In fact, Xu Xiangqian's wife, Huang Jie, was the director of personnel of the Ministry of Textile Industry at that time, how could they be poor and not even have new clothes? But this old chief, who had been thrifty for many years, could not see a little waste, and in his heart, faded clothes could still be worn.
Huang Jie (left), Xu Xiangqian (right)
Speaking of this Mrs. Huang Jie is also famous for her simplicity, Xu Xiangqian once made a rule at home: "Public cars cannot be moved casually, and they cannot be used for private affairs." At this time, in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, a hundred wastes were waiting to be rebuilt, Xu Xiangqian's family lived in the suburbs not far from the Textile Department, in the morning before the sky was bright, they went out to take the bus to work, and when Huang Jie returned home, the sky was full of stars.
Despite the hard work and busyness, Huang Jie would never use the organization to give Xu Xiangqian's car.
Xu Xiangqian's family photo
Three last wishes before death, the central: only one can be approved
In the early 1980s, Xu Xiangqian was already too old at this time, at this time, because of years of battlefield fighting, there were many diseases in his body, one day, the comrades in Dabie Mountain came to visit him, he was very happy to hold the hands of his comrades, asked: "How are the masses in Dabie Mountain?" Can you eat enough? At this time, several comrades shook their heads and said, "No, no, they are all well, you have to take good care of your illness." ”
At this time, Xu looked forward to see that their eyes were a little evasive, so he asked sternly, "Speak quickly!" In the end there is no! ”
At this time, a subordinate stood up and said, "Chief, don't be angry, I said!" I say! When we went down, most of the masses were able to eat, but there was a family of seven, but there were only six bowls, and it was inconvenient to eat. ”
After Xu Xiangqian listened, the veteran general who had been in the battlefield for a long time cried out. The mouth repeated: "7 people, 6 bowls." 7 people, 6 bowls..."
Because of the influence at this time, when Xu Xiangqian's 82nd birthday, his relatives and friends wanted to hold a birthday party for him to celebrate, he said: "The people are still in poverty, how can you make me bear to waste my own extravagance for my birthday?" "After this time, Xu Xiangqian never had a birthday again.
In June 1990, Xu Xiangqian was sent to the hospital because of lung disease, and when he left, he looked at the alley where he had lived for many years, and looked like that until he was taken to the hospital.
Xu Xiangqian, who went to the hospital, fell into a coma, and the waking time was very small, Xu Xiangqian, who knew his condition, called his son Xu Xiaoyan to his bedside, took his hand and said: "The child should say my will next, you must remember it clearly." Xu Qianqian changed his tone and read out his three wills with difficulty:
"One does not bid farewell to the remains, the second does not hold a memorial service, and the third does not keep the ashes, and scatters the ashes in the Dabie Mountains, Daba Mountains, Taihang Mountains, and the Hexi Corridor."
On September 21, 1990, Xu Xiangqian died of illness in the hospital, and Xu Xiaoyan, who wiped away his tears, conveyed his father's last wish to the leaders.
Xu Xiangqian (first from right)
The relevant leader thought for a while and said: "No, except for the last one, the old general has set a good example for the people of the world all his life, and if he does not hold a memorial service, the country cannot agree, and the people cannot agree." ”
Finally, in respect of Xu Qianqian's will, he changed the original memorial service to a farewell party, and used the plane to sprinkle the ashes of Marshal Xu Qianqian to the mountains and rivers he had in mind.
After Xu Xiangqian's death, the central government gave his family a pension of 8,000 yuan. After receiving the money, Xu Xiaoyan sent him to Xu Xiangqian's secretary, Guo Chunfu, because his child was unfortunately infected with leukemia.
Xu Xiangqian in his later years