"When I was a child, nostalgia was a small stamp, I was here, my mother was there..." This nostalgia is believed to have been read in textbooks, and the author Yu Guangzhong wrote this poem in Taiwan in 1971. This year is also more than 20 years after Yu Guangzhong left the mainland and left his hometown, and the poem is full of the author's longing for his hometown and longing for cross-strait reunification.
Figure | in the afterglow
Missing his hometown is not only one person in the afterglow. After the Kuomintang led troops all the way to Taiwan in 1949, many soldiers were trapped in Taiwan and could not see their families for the rest of their lives. They waited, waited, waited until their hair was gray, returned to their hometown after a gap of decades, and saw only the tombstones of their loved ones, or were displaced during the war, and they had long lost their news.
In 2008, Xie Chunsheng was 86 years old at this time. With the support of his children and grandchildren, he boarded a plane back to the mainland and came to his hometown, where caring people led him all the way to the doorstep. He rushed into the door quickly, saw his mother lying on the bed, burst into tears, and choked: "Mother, I am Chunsheng!" I am back! After 71 years, mother and son finally met.
……
Xie Chunsheng was born in a small rural area, a family of four lived a very poor life, fortunately, the family has a little field, enough to maintain life, the family together is also happy and harmonious. When the war had not yet swept across China, Xie Chunsheng's countryside was very peaceful, and the villagers were also amiable, and when he was a child, Xie Chunsheng often took his sister around to find friends to play.
In 1931, Japan launched the "918" incident, trying to invade China first and then dominate all of Asia, and Xie Chunsheng was only 9 years old. The war has not yet swept through their hometown, and although the villagers are panicked, no one is willing to embark on the road of escape, and they still stay in this small village.
As the pace of Japanese aggression accelerated, the whole country fell into unknown terror, and the villagers did not dare to go out at will, hiding in their homes when they did not have to. The Japanese army gradually went to various cities and villages, and the people were also caught in the water.
In 1937, the Anti-Japanese War broke out in full swing, and 15-year-old Xie Chunsheng could not remember the last time he and his friends fought, and the village was devastated by the Japanese army. After the Japanese army swept up again and again, some of the houses were full of blood inside and outside, xie Chunsheng knew that it was all done by the Japanese, and every time he was indignant, he would be harshly taught by his father.
Pictured| Japanese army sweeping the village
At a young age, he was full of blood, not willing to bow his head to those bad people, and always wanted to rush out and fight with them. But every time he swept up, his father would always lock him in the cellar with his mother and sister. Xie Chunsheng knew that this was his father wanting to protect them, but he was a man, but his father would only say, "We Chunsheng must take good care of our mother and sister in the cellar." ”
Xie Chunsheng no longer had anything of value in his home, and the Japanese army snatched everything that could be snatched away, and all the rare ones were smashed, let alone grain. These demons in human skin never paid attention to these people, beat and scolded, and every time they came out of the cellar, their father always had many more wounds, and Xie Chunsheng also deepened his resentment towards the Japanese.
Every time my mother was upset that the food was gone, my father would comfort her: "At least our family is alive, which is more important than anything." "Villagers have been swept away again and again, and many people have carried their bags and left their hometowns. Xie Chunsheng also asked his father if he could leave, but his father said: "Japanese people are everywhere, fleeing for their lives on the road, there is no room to block the rain, at least one bite of food at home." ”
Xie Chunsheng felt as if he was about to live in the cellar, the enemy entered the village every three to five minutes, and the family did not even have time to stay together and talk. Every time he hid in the cellar, he was extremely worried about his father who was alone with the Japanese army outside, but he still listened to his father's words, always comforted his timid sister, and did not let her cry.
But the surprise still came. One day, the devils came to sweep again, and Xie Chunsheng's father immediately locked the three people in the cellar. There was nothing left in the house to give to the Japanese army, and my mother was very worried, and my father said that he had a way to let them hide and keep quiet. The three of them waited and waited, the sister was coaxed to sleep, the father still did not come, the mother had been crying, Xie Chunsheng's heart was full of despair, he wanted to rush out.
His mother quickly grabbed him and said he couldn't move, what if the ghost was still at home? I don't know how long later, there was no sound outside, the mother climbed out alone, and soon Xie Chunsheng heard his mother's cries and ran quickly to the courtyard. I saw my father lying in a pool of blood, his whole body covered with scars cut by the Japanese with bayonets.
Xie Chunsheng did not think that the optimistic father would leave him one day, and he cried uncontrollably. He hated the Japanese so much that if it weren't for Japan's invasion of China, his father wouldn't have died. His heart was full of anger, but he did not know how to deal with the Japanese, Xie Chunsheng was only 15 years old, facing the weapons of the Japanese army, there was no way to fight back, and he resented his incompetence.
Xie Chunsheng seems to have grown up overnight, his mother can't extricate himself from grief, and his sister is still young. He took care of his father's affairs, shouldered his father's burden, and maintained the family well. But the death of his father still planted a seed for this young child. One day, the villagers mentioned in a chat that many people outside had organized troops against the Japanese, and when they drove the Japanese away, we would have a good life.
Xie Chunsheng was suddenly enlightened, why didn't he join the army? Go to the battlefield to kill the enemy, take up arms to drive the enemy out of China, and you can avenge your father. After determining the direction of his life, he immediately rushed home and told his mother that she would be very supportive of his decision, after all, he would no longer have to hide and hide after driving away the Japanese.
No one would want to drive away the Japanese, they would admire the soldiers who heroically killed the enemy, but as a mother, who wants to let her son go to war? Sure enough, Xie Chunsheng's idea was strongly opposed by her mother, she lost her husband, and her 15-year-old son was on the battlefield of eating people and could not come back, how could she bear this pain?
Xie Chunsheng didn't know how to persuade his mother to change her mind, and could only say, "I must go to the battlefield!" I hate them to death, how can I, as a man, hide behind the safety of the country? The mother was already in tears, crying: "You are only 15 years old, how can you fight them?" If you are gone, how can I explain it to your father?" ”
After saying this sentence with all her strength, the mother suddenly lost her strength and kept coughing. Xie Chunsheng still wanted to continue to say something, seeing his sick and weak mother, since the death of his father, his mother's health has been not good, and now his own decision has caused his mother's emotions to be extremely excited, Xie Chunsheng can only swallow the words and turn to comfort his mother.
At night, Xie Chunsheng tossed and turned in bed and could not sleep, and when he closed his eyes, he was full of the blood-stained houses in the village and the body of his father. Thinking of the ugly faces of the Japanese when they swept the village, he wanted to join the army even more, but his mother and sister needed to be taken care of, and Xie Chunsheng fell into a difficult choice in his heart, and he did not sleep well for several days.
Xie Chunsheng's desire to join the army became stronger and stronger, and the Japanese went into the village to burn and loot more and more viciously, and his heart became more and more determined. Afraid of his mother's obstruction, he got up late one night, packed up his clothes, passed by the kitchen, and saw a small amount of grain, Xie Chunsheng decided to leave it to his mother and sister and go the road empty-handed.
The next day, when she found her son sneaking away from home, the mother was full of despair, she did not expect her son's idea to be so firm, especially without bringing a little food on the road, which made her extremely worried. If a mother will blame her child, when she learns that her son has left home, the mother has no other ideas, and only hopes that her son will be safe, and that the country will return to her side.
The family lost the head of the family, and the son also ran away, leaving only the mother and daughter to rely on each other. The mother dragged her seriously ill body to the ground to do farm work, and the sister also lost the love of her father and brother, so she had to shoulder the heavy responsibility of taking care of her mother and completely break up a good family. However, because there were countless families who were destroyed and killed in the war, they could not even survive, so there was Xie Chunsheng who joined the army to serve the motherland.
Xie Chunsheng embarked on the road to find the troops, and he also suffered countless hardships. As long as there was a little news of the appearance of the troops, Xie Chunsheng rushed over, and as a result, the team had already left each time. Without a little food on his body, he had to beg all the way, and after wandering for many days, he finally met a marching team on the road.
Where Xie Chunsheng knew the difference between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, and the open and secret struggle between the two parties, he only recognized that this was a Chinese team, and if he could fight the Japanese, he rushed up and said that he wanted to be a soldier. The team he inadvertently stopped was the main force of the Kuomintang, the "Seventh Steel Army", and as the vanguard army, they rushed to Shanghai in a hurry and directly refused Xie Chunsheng's request.
Xie Chunsheng came out looking for troops, and after looking for so many days, it was difficult to bump into one, how could he let it go? He found the commander, hugged the man's feet and sat down on the ground, shouting, "I must join the army!" My father was killed by the Japanese, I must avenge him, you will take me! Xie Chunsheng was afraid that the chief would think he was young, and lied that he was 17 years old.
The platoon leader looked at Xie Chunsheng, who was very stubborn and stubborn, and knew that many children were thinking of killing the enemy because their relatives were killed, and they did not know the cruelty of war at all. Looking at Xie Chunsheng, his eyes were full of determination, and the platoon leader felt that he didn't look very old, but his temperament was a piece of material for a soldier.
The team still had to go to Shanghai, and could not take Xie Chunsheng forward, so the platoon leader left him a note telling him: "If you really want to join the army, just wait here with this note." We still have a large army behind us, and if you regret it, you can also think about it these days. After leaving a few pieces of dry food, the platoon leader and the line continued on their way.
Xie Chunsheng also waited for the large army a few days later and officially became a soldier of the Seventh Steel Army. In the army, he humbly learned combat skills from his predecessors. Soon, the defense of Shanghai began, and Xie Chunsheng went to the front line battlefield after a short training. This war was fought extremely fiercely, and the comrades around him fell one by one, Xie Chunsheng truly realized the cruelty of the war, he did not have time to be afraid, he could only grow up quickly.
The sacrifice of his teammates inspired his blood, and he rushed to the front every battle, learning how to save his life against the Japanese army. Malnourished since he was a child, his body was thinner than his peers, not to mention that he was only 15 years old at the time, carrying a gun and throwing a grenade, and fighting with all his strength with the Japanese army.
Pictured| Li Zongren
At the Battle of Taierzhuang, Li Zongren led all the warriors to join the battle. After a month of finally defeating the enemy army, Xie Chunsheng was eager to drive the Japanese out of China and worked very hard in the battle. Having participated in several wars, he also performed well, and his superiors quickly noticed this brave soldier, and Xie Chunsheng also became a battalion commander step by step with his ability.
Xie Chunsheng did not have the joy of becoming an official, for him, whether it was a battalion commander or a soldier, he was a soldier who defended his family and the country, and there was no difference. His goal was to fight the Japanese, avenge his father, and defend his country.
Under the aggression of the Japanese, the two parties finally shook hands and made peace and joined hands to deal with the Japanese army. As soon as this battle was fought, a few years passed, and Xie Chunsheng also faded away and grew into a strong man. In August 1945, Japan announced its unconditional surrender, and the War of Resistance Against Japan was declared victorious, and cheers rang out from all over China.
Pictured| Japan surrendered
It's finally over, finally revenge on my father! Xie Chunsheng had countless moods in his heart, and the most was still happy. He thought he could finally go home to see his mother. During the war, the country was in danger, he did not dare to leave the team and go home, and now that the war was finally over, it was time to go home to see how his mother and sister were doing.
However, his superiors rejected the leave application each time, telling him that he could not do so for the time being. His comrades-in-arms often comforted him, and if he waited, he would definitely be able to go home. Xie Chunsheng pressed his thoughts, and could only train while training in the army, while thinking about the situation in his hometown, and whether his mother's illness was better? How tall has my sister grown? In his thoughts, the news he received was not that he could go home, but that he needed to go to the battlefield again.
It turned out that after the victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan, Chiang Kai-shek, who was not dead in his heart, wanted to seize power again and made countless small moves behind his back. He even exchanged all the weapons and equipment of the troops with the help of the United States, trying to force the Communists to retreat with advanced weapons. Under the command of Chiang Kai-shek, the Kuomintang troops launched repeated attacks on the Communists.
Xie Chunsheng could not have imagined that after desperately trying to beat the Japanese away on the battlefield, the Kuomintang turned its head and pointed its gun at its own people. Xie Chunsheng's dream of returning home was shattered, and his heart was also tormented, but he could only obey the military orders and fight with the troops.
The Seventh Steel Army, which has always been brave and good at war, lost one battle after another in the struggle with the Communists, and the troops also retreated again and again, and were forced to go to the Guangxi area. Xie Chunsheng watched his comrades-in-arms around him fall one by one, obviously they all survived during the anti-Japanese period, thinking that they could meet the bright future, how could they die in the civil war?
Xie Chunsheng felt like a walking dead, and many fighters said before that they wanted to go home to spend time with their daughters-in-law and parents. Everyone laughed and thought about China's future development, but they did not think at all that because of the selfishness of the superior leaders, countless fighters could no longer go home, and they did not fall on the battlefield of the anti-Japanese resistance, but fell before returning home.
Xie Chunsheng felt that the future was very confused, the team could not defeat the Communists, and he probably had to die in a battle like them. For the first time, he also doubted his decision to join the army, he had taken up arms to fight the enemy, why was he now facing his own people? He is not the only one who has this kind of thinking; there are countless problems within the Kuomintang, and in this case, their firmness is simply inferior to that of the Communist Party.
Pictured| Chiang Kai-shek
The Kuomintang army was quickly defeated, and successive fiascoes finally sobered Chiang Kai-shek, who was engaged in civil war. He finally understood that the situation was not right, but how willing he was to give up the power in his hands, he did not want to surrender, but he could not fight back, he decided to flee. After making this decision, many of Chiang Kai-shek's loyal troops left the troops that could not be taken away in place, and only a few troops fled all the way.
Xie Chunsheng's Steel Seventh Army was also taken away. One day, he boarded a ship with his troops and learned during questioning that the destination he was going to was the island of Taiwan. At this time, Xie Chunsheng on the ship did not expect that it would be difficult to walk back this time, and his mother and sister, who he had in mind, had completely lost contact with him.
After arriving in Taiwan, the two parties remained in a state of hostility. On the mainland, the Communists pursued and arrested The Kuomintang agents left behind by Chiang Kai-shek; Chiang Kai-shek also recruited troops for training in Taiwan. On October 1, 1949, Chairman Mao went to Tiananmen Square and declared the founding of New China, and the War of Liberation was also declared victorious, completely smashing Chiang Kai-shek's plans.
Chiang Kai-shek also ordered that no one should be allowed to return to the mainland, nor could they have contact with the people on the mainland, completely shattering the dream of the soldiers to return to their hometowns. After joining the army for more than ten years, Xie Chunsheng did not expect that he had fallen into such a fate, and he could not return home. Countless nights, Xie Chunsheng will wake up from his dream, he is afraid that his mother is not alive, he can not fulfill filial piety, tears soaked pillow, Xie Chunsheng is on this island and so on.
In this case, Xie Chunsheng began to learn to do business, always trying to find a way to support himself. After staying in Taiwan for a long time, Xie Chunsheng sometimes comforted himself that this place name is really good; the environment is also good; there are many kinds of fruits, very sweet. But none of this can bring comfort to a homesick wanderer, who just wants to return to his small home and live with his mother and sister.
In the blink of an eye, decades have passed, and Xie Chunsheng has also become a white-haired grandfather, who has married and had children in Taiwan, but his heart is still worried about his mother and sister. In that era of war and chaos, Xie Chunsheng did not dare to think about whether his mother was still alive, he only wanted to find his relatives, see his mother again, and tell his filial piety.
In 1987, Taiwan and the mainland were no longer isolated. After the two sides of the strait realized the three links, Xie Chunsheng immediately embarked on a journey back to the mainland to find relatives. But after many years, the mainland has undergone earth-shaking changes, plus Xie Chunsheng does not have much culture, only knows the name of his village, but the mainland has been reformed for a long time, and the great China, where can you find people who have been lost for many years?
The search for relatives ended in failure. Xie Chunsheng did not give up, the mainland is his root, it is not easy to return to his hometown, he must find his mother. He remembers leaving home at a young age, when he secretly vowed that he would fight the Japanese and let his mother and sister live a good life. But now I don't even know if they are dead or alive, and their conscience is uneasy!
After several fruitless searches, Xie Chunsheng's children did not want to let him toss anymore. But how homesickness goes out! Children have no choice but to inform the benevolent people of the society about this matter. At that time, many Taiwan compatriots returned to the mainland to look for relatives, and they all successfully found their relatives with the help of caring people, and Xie Chunsheng's children could only entrust their hopes to them.
With the help of many people. In 2008, Xie Chunsheng got the news of his mother and immediately went to the car back to his hometown to see his mother, who had not been seen for 71 years! Under the narration of the sister, we know that this old man, relying on a tenacious belief, is waiting for his son to return home.
After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the mother thought that her son was about to return, but before the news of her son's return to his hometown, the War of Liberation broke out again, and the Kuomintang fled to Taiwan after its defeat. The mother knows in which camp her son joined the army, nor does she know that her son is trapped in Taiwan, and a mother is waiting in her hometown, but she has not waited for her son.
Many people do not think that Xie Chunsheng is still alive, but the mother just shakes her head, believing that her son is still alive and will definitely come back to find herself. She went to the village gate every day to wait, and when she was too old to walk, she sat in front of the house and waited for her son to walk home with his bag. The mother, who already had a root cause, was also worried and became weaker and weaker, and could only rely on her sister to take care of her.
71 years on, the 106-year-old mother can no longer stand up straight. Every day, I could only lie in bed, speaking incoherently, even my sister could not hear clearly, and the only thing she could understand was the "spring life" that had been nagging for 71 years.
Xie Chunsheng was already crying so much that he couldn't speak, and he could only hug his mother tightly and use the hug to tell his thoughts. The old mother, who had been waiting for her son for many years, raised her hand with difficulty, touched Xie Chunsheng's head, and smiled. The mother could not even speak, and could only look at her son, as if she wanted to make up for the 71 years of separation. After waiting for her son, the old mother finally fulfilled her long-cherished wish and died that night.
The two separated as soon as they met, and everyone present was extremely sad, but for this mother, waiting for her son and seeing him for the last time was worth it. Xie Chunsheng's decision to join the army for the sake of the country deserves everyone's admiration, but it is really pitiful that he has been trapped for decades and cannot return to his hometown. But it is precisely because there are countless heroic warriors like Xie Chunsheng that we have today's era of peace!