It is said that behind a successful man there must be a successful woman, and the wives of many founding generals are also great legends, and today we will talk about Ye Jianying's ex-wife Zeng Xianzhi, whose revolutionary story is far more legendary than her husband.
Zeng Xianzhi was born in Heye Town, Hunan Province, and their family was a well-known high-gate nobleman in the country, because her ancestor was Zeng Guoquan, the younger brother of the famous Zeng Guofan, and was also a heroic figure known as the "Nine Marshals" at that time.
Since he was a child, Zeng Xianzhi was regarded as a pearl in the palm of his hand by his family, although the atmosphere of the old society was still there at that time, but the Zeng family was extremely fond of her daughter, so that she could go to school and study, play basketball, and go out to play wildly. You know, these are very out of the ordinary things for everyone, which shows the Zeng family's pampering of Zeng Xianzhi.
At the age of 13, Zeng Xianzhi was admitted to the Hunan Women's Normal School, and the principal of this school was also a progressive person who aspired to the revolutionary cause, often teaching students some revolutionary ideas and teaching them to defend national sovereignty, which planted the seeds of revolution in Zeng Xianzhi's heart and laid a solid foundation for her lifelong revolutionary struggle in the future.
Fortunately, the Whampoa Military Academy added women's subjects in 1926, so women can also enter the military school, Zeng Xianzhi directly enrolled, fortunately became the first batch of female military cadets in the Republic of China. That year, she was just 17 years old, and it was when she was full of spirit and beauty that she suddenly became a military school goddess.
After graduation, Zeng Xianzhi quickly entered the officers' teaching corps as a clerical position, and it was here that she met Ye Jianying, who was the leader of the regiment. At that time, Ye Jianying was a famous young talent in the army, not only handsome, but also had a bright future, and many women secretly promised him.
Zeng Xianzhi naturally liked him in contact, and So did Ye Jianying, after all, Zeng Xianzhi was such a young and beautiful girl with outstanding ability, who could not like it? And the greatest reason why they were able to please each other was the same yearning for revolution, which was simply a fatal attraction for the progressive youth of the time.
Soon the two participated in the Guangzhou Uprising together, officially joined the Chinese Communist Party, and married in the presence of the party organization. Zeng Xianzhi was just 18 years old when he married, and Ye Jianying was already 31 years old and had married two wives. But Zeng Xianzhi didn't care at all, she felt that only like-minded people could become partners.
However, the warm time after the marriage of the two did not last long, because of the needs of organizational work, the two were often separated from each other, and they could not stay together for too long. It was hard to have a place to study abroad together, and Zeng Xianzhi also gave it to others because the quota was not enough.
Soon after, in the second year of Ye Jianying's trip to the Soviet Union, she was arrested and imprisoned by the reactionaries because of her identity, during which she underwent various severe tortures, but she was determined and never surrendered or confessed. She had been mentally prepared for sacrifice, but the organization worked hard to rescue her, which saved her life.
Because her identity was exposed, Zeng Xianzhi was actually not safe anywhere, so the organization directly arranged for her to study in Japan, where there were many of their comrades. Unexpectedly, however, Japan was not safe, and Zeng Xianzhi was imprisoned again. This time, she was able to get out of danger, or because of her identity as a descendant of her former family, Japan did not want to cause international public opinion, so it let her go.
After returning to the organization, Zeng Xianzhi finally met her husband who had returned from the Soviet Union, and the two held their heads and cried, and finally reunited. Unfortunately, the time spent together was always short-lived, and later they were ordered to go to Yan'an, but because Zeng Xianzhi's appearance was too high, they could not pass no matter how disguised. In the end, in desperation, the two separated again, Ye Jianying went to Yan'an, and Zeng Xianzhi went to the underground organization in Hong Kong to continue his work.
After arriving in Hong Kong, Tsang found out that she was pregnant, because of the inconvenience of communication, Tsang Xian Sik did not tell her husband, but gave birth to the child himself. Later, she was transferred to work in the Eighth Route Army office, and the child was sent back to her hometown, but she still did not have the opportunity to meet her husband.
In 1941, she finally got the opportunity to study in Yan'an, and she was very happy to see her husband again. However, on a sunny day, after the husband and wife separated for 13 years, Ye Jianying has formed a family again, and the two have already had a daughter.
When Zeng Xianzhi learned of this, she did not cry or make trouble, she knew that her husband's not easy, as a famous person, she naturally could afford to put it down. Subsequently, she gave up her personal feelings and devoted all her energy to revolutionary work, while her children lived with her.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, she became a senior official of the Women's Federation, serving as the vice chairman of the Women's Federation, holding a state-level position, and her treatment was no worse than that of her ex-husband Ye Jianying. But regardless of the position, she and her children always lived in their own ten-square-meter cottages, and according to her words, such a cozy cottage was good. Her son Ye Xuanning was also very angry, and served as a member of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the head of the Liaison Department of the General Political Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and the rank of major general.
This simple attitude to life accompanied her throughout her life, and finally died of illness in 1989.