China has three relatively high military positions, namely:
Chief of the General Staff, Minister of National Defense, and First Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission.
Everyone who holds these positions has outstanding military talent.
This marshal is called
Xu Xiangqian, one of the "Five Tiger Generals" under Chairman Mao, Marshal Xu.
However, what is unexpected is that this marshal who has made great achievements in battle, at first, just wanted to be a teacher, what kind of opportunity made him change his mind and become a marshal?
When I was young, I struggled to study
Xu Xiangqian was born on November 8, 1901, to a poor family in Wukou County, Shanxi. His father was a Qing Dynasty talent, who excelled in learning, and his mother believed in Buddhism and was charitable and charitable in her daily life. Under their influence,
Xu Xiangqian became a person who loved literature and was optimistic and kind.
The Xu family's parents are well aware of the benefits of reading, so even if the family is poor, they have always insisted on letting their children receive education.
After the opening of the new-style school, in order to let the children receive a better education, the Xu family's parents saved money and sent Xu Xiangqian and his brother into it.
Unfortunately, the good times did not last long, with the continuous war and social unrest, the situation at home became worse and worse, under helplessness
Xu Xiangqian dropped out of school
finish.
In order to maintain his family, he chose to apprentice in a bookstore until two years later.
A provincial national normal school in Shanxi
In publicly-funded admissions, he had the opportunity to re-study.
In 1919, Xu Xiangqian entered this normal school, received systematic education, and began to care about the national situation. After graduation, Xu Xiangqian was originally going to devote himself to education, but his progressive remarks were resisted by schools that were still relatively traditional in teaching at that time, and he was dismissed from two schools in succession.
These two dismissals made Xu Xiangqian realize that he was there
The profession of education in this period could not save China, and he had to find other ways.
Just when he was confused about the road ahead, Xu Xiangqian saw Sun Yat-sen's propaganda list for the enrollment of the Whampoa Military Academy.
The Whampoa Military Academy is a school for the country to cultivate military talents,
Xu Xiangqian felt that having military power might be the best way to truly save China, so he immediately decided to take the exam with a few fellow villagers.
In 1924, Xu Xiangqian was admitted to the Whampoa Military Academy with excellent results. Here he was exposed to knowledge he had never learned before, such as
Tactics, weapons, strategy, communications and terrain
and so on, and came out on top in the exams again and again.
However, such an excellent student was not favored by Chiang Kai-shek, only because Xu Xiangqian was not proud and somewhat honest.
However, Chiang Kai-shek never expected that this honest and inconspicuous student, who was full of courage when fighting on the battlefield, became one of the most troublesome figures in his revolutionary career, and issued a reward of 100,000 yuan in order to arrest him.
Chiang Kai-shek was unable to find this gold, but the Communist Party would not spare such excellent military talents. In 1927, Xu Xiangqian joined the Communist Party and threw himself into the revolutionary cause of liberating China, beginning his life as a "god of war".
Xu Xiangqian's outstanding battle achievements
Marshal Xu has fought countless battles in his life, and the most amazing thing is that on the battlefield, he is often able to
Less wins more,
Win with tactics.
In 1931, Chiang Kai-shek carried out "encirclement and suppression" of the revolutionary base areas of the CPC Central Committee, and Xu Xiangqian first assisted Kuang Jixun in crushing the first and second "encirclement and suppression" of the Kuomintang. Chiang Kai-shek, after two defeats, was still not dead-hearted, and gathered the strength of 15 divisions to prepare to launch a third "encirclement and suppression"
Xu Xiangqian did not give him a chance, he launched four battles in advance, annihilating tens of thousands of Nationalists.
Finally, it is also adopted
Surround the point to help
The strategy annihilated the reinforcements of 14 divisions, and this "anti-encirclement suppression" under the command of Xu Xiangqian defeated the Kuomintang army of 200,000 people with only 60,000 people, and successfully crushed Chiang Kai-shek's attempt.
Unfortunately, the Fifth Anti-Encirclement and Suppression Campaign of the Red Army failed, and the Red Army began to carry out strategic transfers. But on the road of strategic transfer, Xu Xiangqian still exerted his strategic talents and helped the Red Army through many difficulties, among them
Battle of Thousand Buddha Mountain
Most famous.
In May 1935, Chiang Kai-shek planned to break them one by one in order to prevent the Red Army and the Red Fourth Front from meeting.
The Beichuan Gorge near The Thousand Buddha Mountain was the "burial place" he had prepared for the Red Fourth Front.
This time, Xu Xiangqian still did not let Chiang Kai-shek's plot succeed, and he led the Red Fourth Front army to divide into five roads, first occupying the county seat of Beichuan County, and then opening the canyon passage to allow the main force of the Red Army to pass safely. Subsequently, he launched several campaigns against the Kuomintang army to contain the enemy army, buying time for the Central Red Army to cross the Jinsha River, dadu River and Jiajin Mountain.
Xu Xiangqian's outstanding military ability led the Red Army to victory after victory, which made the Central Committee more convinced of him and entrusted him with heavy responsibilities during the Liberation War.
The Battle of Jinzhong took place in Xu Xiangqian's hometown of Shanxi, and this time he was confronted by Yan Xishan, the "Emperor of Shanxi", and his Japanese troops.
The War of Resistance Against Japan was over, and the Japanese army should have been repatriated to China, so how could there be a Japanese army under Yan Xishan's command?
It turned out that after the end of the War of Resistance Against Japan, in order to expand his military strength to resist the Communists, Yan Xishan actually conspired with the tiger and colluded with the Japanese high-level, leaving a part of the well-equipped Japanese army for his use.
In order to liberate Shanxi, Xu Xiangqian adopted
Sport warfare
Leading the People's Liberation Army to fight Yan Xishan's troops, in exasperation, Yan Xishan sent his long-raised Japanese army to use them to eliminate Xu Xiangqian's troops.
Where Xu Xiangqian would let Yan Xishan get his wish, he set up an ambush circle early on, waiting for Yan Xishan's army to throw itself into the net.
The People's Liberation Army was already indignant, and after discovering that it was the Japanese who were fighting against them, they were even more energetic to fight with them. Xu Xiangqian ordered the whole army that not a single Japanese army was allowed to stay.
Although the War of Resistance Against Japan was over, the damage caused to them by the Japanese did not dissipate!
The People's Liberation Army used the spear shells over and over again, and finally the large troops rushed to the battlefield with bayonets, so that the Japanese could taste what it was like to be stabbed into a honeycomb.
Yan Xishan thought that he had won the victory, but he did not expect that the news that came was actually that the Japanese army he sent out was completely destroyed, and he was directly angry and sick.
The Battle of Jinzhong wiped out more than half of Yan Xishan's troops and made great contributions to the liberation of Shanxi in the future.
After the founding of New China, he served in the three highest military positions
Under such outstanding achievements, Xu Xiangqian has never been proud, no matter what glory he has always been humble, he has never valued fame and fortune.
On October 1, 1949, after the founding of New China, Xu Xiangqian was appointed by Chairman Mao as the Chinese People's Liberation Army
Chief
。
Such a special honor, Xu Xiangqian initially refused, he felt that his ability was not the most outstanding among the many soldiers who accompanied the chairman to fight the world, coupled with his long illness, he was afraid that he would not be able to take on this heavy responsibility well.
However, Chairman Mao resolutely said that with his ability, he was fully qualified to take up the post of chief of the general staff, and if he was unwell, he could find someone to represent him, but this position was none other than his.
Chairman Mao's words made Xu Xiangqian very moved, and also showed the chairman's trust in him and his affirmation of his ability from the side.
Unfortunately, because of Xu Xiangqian's health, the post of chief of the general staff has always been represented by Nie Rongzhen. But it was only an agent, and Chairman Mao really kept this position for him for five years.
Until 1954, Xu Xiangqian was appointed as the first vice chairman of the Central Military Commission.
The post of Chief of the General Staff was ceded to others.
Xu Xiangqian left a lot of hidden dangers in his body because of years of conquest, and in his old age, his physical condition was not very good.
The doctor had only one instruction for him, and that was to recuperate
。 However, he knew that Chairman Mao had high hopes for him, and every time he was given a very important position, he never slackened off in his work.
Xu Xiangqian's ability is recognized by everyone, coupled with his work attitude, so no matter what height he raises, no one will feel that he cannot be appointed.
In 1955, New China held its first conferment ceremony, and between the beginning of the ceremony, someone told him about his imminent appointment as a marshal and sent him heartfelt blessings. But Xu Xiangqian was very uneasy about this matter, and he felt that the rank of "marshal" was too high.
To this end, he specially wrote a letter to Chairman Mao, in which he expressed earnest words and felt
The revolution is over, and it doesn't matter whether or not to give the rank of marshal. Those comrades who died in the war were more qualified for this honor than he was.
Mao Zedong was greatly moved after receiving this letter, but he still rejected his request very decisively, for the liberation of China, Xu Xiangqian paid too much.
Compared with his suffering, the rank of a marshal is too light.
Under the persuasion of him and other comrades-in-arms, Xu Xiangqian finally accepted this rank, but at the same time he also secretly swore in his heart.
He will absolutely be loyal to the motherland and continue to serve the motherland, hoping that one day he will be worthy of China and this rank.
Under such a belief, he is more engaged in his work,
In 1978, Xu Xiangqian became Vice Premier and Minister of National Defense.
At this point, he alone had completed all three military positions in China.
But even if his military rank is high, he treats himself as an ordinary person, and even his son feels that his father is just an "ordinary old man" who has become a marshal.
Marshal of the Cloth
In peacetime, Xu Xiangqian did not like to wear military uniforms, and often walked on the road wearing a washed white and patched regular clothes, no different from the cloth-clad people on the street. Once his friend went to talk to him, but found the famous Marshal Xu sitting in a chair knitting sweaters for his children.
They all say that the iron man is tender, and this word is most appropriate to put on him.
But while he gives tenderness to his children, he also has high demands on them, first of all
Life must be simple, and people must be low-key
Second
, a red heart for the motherland
Never do anything harmful to the country. The children of the Xu family all remember their father's teachings and never dare to disobey them.
It is said that the father of the tiger has no dog,
Xu Xiangqian's son Xu Xiaoyan graduated from the Department of Computer Science at Tsinghua University and worked with his colleagues to develop China's first generation of Chinese character computers.
Make great contributions to China.
In an interview, he confessed that his father's influence on him was very profound, and Xu Xiangqian never put up any official frame at home, and even sometimes gave them a feeling that their father was just an ordinary person.
But his majesty was always there, and once a group of commanders came to their homes to find Xu Xiangqian for a meeting, and they could not avoid greeting each other while waiting in the reception room, but just when Xu Xiangqian appeared at the door, all the greetings suddenly stopped. This is a conditioned reflex after following Xu Shuai in battle, and it is also the majesty he has established.
It was also at that time that Xu Xiaoyan finally experienced in his father what is called the temperament of a marshal.
At the Xu family, there is an ink treasure that Xi Zhongxun gave to Xu Xiangqian, which reads:
"A life of honor and integrity, never for yourself."
These 12 words are exactly the portrayal of Xu Xiangqian's life, for him, public is public, private is private.
After Xu Xiangqian's officials became bigger and bigger, many people from his hometown came to visit him and ask him for some personal matters, including his two sisters.
Xu Xiangqian was very guilty about these two sisters, and they entrusted their sons to Xu Xiangqian and asked him to take them to fight, but in the end Xu Xiangqian failed to bring them back.
Now in the face of these two sisters' pleas for help, Xu Xiangqian felt quite embarrassed, but he really could not violate his own principles, he told them about his difficulties, and let them live with him for a while. The two sisters ate and lived with Xu Xiangqian for a while before they understood,
The younger brother was a true servant of the people, living frugally, and he was no longer begged to do anything.
Xu Xiangqian himself is like this, and so are the people around him under his infection. The state sent him a bus, and he never used it except for official business. At that time, Marshal Xu's wife worked far from home, every day
Greet the morning star and return with the evening star
。 But even so, she never thought of hitting the bus.
Xu Xiangqian devoted his life to the revolution, and his three last words before his death made his friends and children who had fought with him for many years blush:
The first did not hold a farewell ceremony; the second did not hold a memorial service; the third scattered his ashes to Dabie Mountain, Daba Mountain, Hexi Corridor and Taihang Mountain.
Xu Shuai's first two last words can be understood by everyone, because he himself is relatively low-key, his life is also very simple, and it is normal not to like to do a lot of work. But why scatter the ashes in those four places?
This last word is known only to those who fought with him.
These four places were the places where the Red Army fought at that time, and here were buried the corpses of comrades who had fought with Xu Xiangqian, and he was unable to take them out at that time, so he hoped that he could merge with them after death.
Marshal Xu spent his life on horseback, and although he had worked hard for half of his life, he still bowed down to the revolutionary cause.
In the eyes of others, he was ordinary, but on the road to the construction of new China, he was great.