In January 1972, Marshal Chen Yi died in Beijing, and the whole country mourned, and it was not surprising that the people were sad.
But an old woman who had been hidden for 54 years in Xingguo County, Jiangxi Province, fell ill because of this, and when she woke up, she kept muttering in her mouth: "My good man is gone, my good man is gone." At his request, his children set up a spiritual hall in the courtyard, placed incense sticks, and burned incense in the direction of Beijing.
Sixteen years later, this old woman who called on Chen Yi to be a good person came to the Beijing Women's Federation and asked to see Cai Chang, the president of the All-China Women's Federation, who was seriously ill, and in the face of others' inquiries, she revealed to everyone her identity that had been hidden for many years: "I am Chen Yi's wife."
What is the origin of this 71-year-old village woman? Why did he claim to be marshal Chen Yi's wife?
Lai Yueming
In July 1919, Lai Yueming was born in Baishi Village, Jie Village, Xingguo County, Jiangxi Province, and her family called her Sanniang. Because she was smart and studious since she was a child, her parents sent her to Jiangbei to study for three years.
The good times did not last long, and the sudden changes in the family made the already poor family even worse. In order to live, she was sold by her uncle to a local family surnamed Xie to become a child bride.
It just so happened that at this time, the peasant movement led by the Communist Party of China was in full swing in the Gannan region.
Xingguo County, where Lai Sanniang is located, became one of the centers of the revolutionary base areas, where the revolutionaries beat up local tyrants, divided up the land, propagated new ideas, and liberated the common people.
Influenced by the education of new ideas, Lai Sanniang realized that her destiny was her own decision, and she wanted to be a woman in the new era. So he went to the Xie family alone and asked for the marriage contract to be dissolved.
Village Academy
After regaining her freedom, the first thing Lai Sanniang did was change her name, and she named herself Yueming. He threw himself into women's work.
After the Communists came to Xingguo County, they liberated Jiecunwei.
Soviet power was established here, and later the Committee for the Improvement of women's lives, which was used to emancipate women, teach women culture, improve their status, defend women's political rights, and organize women's participation in revolution and political struggle.
Lai Yueming had a bold and generous personality, and his work was carried out in an orderly manner, and he was soon elected as the director of the Women's Improvement Committee.
After that, Lai Yueming actively cooperated with the organization of the Soviet power, and in three years, she traveled through the villages and towns of Xingguo County, propagating new ideas to local women, constantly encouraging them to struggle against the feudal forces, pursuing a new life of equality between men and women, introducing the ideas of the Communist Party to local women, and calling on them to participate in the revolution.
Women learn
Thanks to the efforts of Lai Yueming and other members, women broke through the cage of old feudal ideas and enthusiastically participated in the revolutionary struggle. They make full use of their rights to fight for a new life for themselves.
In April 1932, due to the fruitfulness of women's work, she was appointed by Cai Chang, then minister of women's department in The White District of Jiangxi Province, to study at the Lenin Normal School in Ruijin.
The originally planned study period was six months, but unexpectedly Caught up with the fourth counter-revolutionary encirclement and suppression operation launched by Chiang Kai-shek in the middle of the way, and the study was hastily concluded after two months. Lai Yueming accepted the organizational arrangement and went to Ningdu to take over the work of the Children's Bureau of the Jiangxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China.
Red Army learning base
Since Chiang Kai-shek often encircled and bombed the revolutionary troops in the Soviet Zone, in order to reduce losses, it was necessary to grasp military information in advance. Lai Yueming's work revolves around "passing on intelligence", and she leads her children's regiment to stand guard for the troops and pass on information.
In addition, she also served as a bridge between the revolutionary army and the masses of the people, often organizing local women to bring dry food and hot water to comfort the soldiers on the front line, the people's families had difficulties, and she also called on the Red Army to help the people solve their problems.
During the holidays, programs are choreographed with children to enrich the lives of the people's fighters in the CCP's Soviet union.
One day, one of her children who had passed on information had not returned for a long time, and she suddenly had a bad premonition, so she quickly organized people to go out to find it. Sure enough, the child's body was found in the wilderness.
After investigation, it was understood that after the communist team came to Ningdu, they punished many landlords and gentry who had committed wrongdoing, and they held a grudge in their hearts and were afraid of the guns and ammunition in the hands of the revolutionary team, so they looked for an opportunity to poison the small correspondent.
Baby Soldier
Hearing the bad news, Cai Chang rushed to Ningdu overnight and immediately instructed the Jiangxi Provincial Cpc Committee of the Young Communist Party to strictly protect the safety of the communications team members and severely punish the revolutionary reactionaries.
In order to ensure the safety of the revolutionary organization team, Cai Chang evacuated with some comrades, and Lai Yueming followed her to work in the Jiangxi Provincial Party Committee.
Cai Chang is knowledgeable and kind, and Lai Yueming follows her day and night to study and live, and has achieved great growth in thinking and work.
In August 1932, Chen Yi, who had returned triumphantly from the front, came to Xingguo County with his troops to rest. In order to reward the Red Army soldiers who threw their heads and spilled their blood on the battlefield, the Provincial Committee of the Young Communist Party arranged a literary and artistic performance.
Lai Yueming and Li Meiqun, who can sing and dance, decided to perform a mountain song duet program for the soldiers.
As night falls, the center of the literary and art venue is brightly lit. As the children's songs fell, Lai Yueming and Li Meiqun took the stage. The loud and beautiful singing made Chen Yi notice the bright and beautiful Lai Yueming on the stage, and since then he has left a deep mark in his heart.
Female warriors
Later, in the gap between communicating with Cai Chang and working, Chen Yi told her about this experience. Cai Chang was overjoyed when he learned that since the death of his first wife, Xiao Juying, Chen Yi had begun a life of being alone.
As friends, Cai Chang and his wife were worried about his marriage, and now that he had taken the initiative to mention it himself, he must promote this marriage.
Cai Chang found Lai Yueming and explained the situation to her. Lai Yueming felt that Chen Yi was already the head of the battle, and he was just a female officer, and he had not read any books, afraid that he was not worthy of Chen Yi.
In order to reassure her, Cai Chang promised her that "Chen Yi is a person who cherishes love and righteousness, and will not care about her background." He also persuaded her that "you yourself are still doing women's work, shouting every day about equality between men and women, free love, and being the new woman of the times."
How do you back down when it's your turn? Seeing that Lai Yueming was still worried, he told her the love story of Chen Yi and Xiao Juying.
Chen Yi and Xiao Juying
It turned out that Chen Yi had a premonition that he would encounter an accident before going out, so he instructed his wife, "Ju Ying, if I can't return as scheduled, it will prove that I may have an accident, and then you don't have to wait for me." Sure enough, Chen Yi was attacked by white bandits on the way back, and the horse was shot and killed, so he had to take a detour and return.
This back and forth delayed the hour, and the wife thought that Chen Yi really had an accident, so she committed suicide by throwing herself into the well. After Chen Yi returned home, he saw the body of his deceased wife, blamed himself, and wrote a tear-jerking "Reminiscences of Friends Poem" to express his grief.
After Lai Yueming heard about it, he was touched by Chen Yi's affection and agreed to the marriage.
On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month in 1932, Chen Yi and Lai Yueming held a wedding ceremony at the north gate of Ningdu County, and they used the money they had saved to entertain the revolutionary comrades who came to congratulate them in a restaurant at the east gate of Ningdu.
wedding
The sweet life of the newlywed lasted only a few days, and Chen Yi rushed to the front line. The fourth encirclement and suppression campaign launched by the Kuomintang was fierce, and the war was uneven and rising again, and Chen Yi, who was busy countering the encirclement and suppression, had no time to take care of his newly married wife.
It was not until March of the following year, when the fourth anti-encirclement and suppression campaign was a complete victory, that Chen Yi withdrew from the battlefield and rushed home to reunite with his wife.
At the end of 1933, Lai Yueming accepted the organizational arrangement and went to the Ruijin Marxist Institute to study for half a year, and after graduating, he was assigned to Tailei County as a women's minister.
In September 1934, she received a notice from Cai Chang asking her to rush to Shicheng to work and independently take charge of the affairs of the Minister of Women.
At that time, The stone city where Lai Yueming was located belonged to the northern barrier of the Central Soviet District, and its strategic position was very important, and the exchange of fire between the enemy and us in order to seize this key territory was extremely fierce.
guerrilla warfare
In order to achieve victory, Zhu De, Peng Dehuai and other generals personally came to the battlefield and commanded the battle. In order to ensure the military supplies in the front, Lai Yueming actively carried out the rear support work. She led the women in making shoes and clothes and preparing dry food.
In order to maintain the combat effectiveness of our army, she also mobilized young men to join the army everywhere, and with her efforts, 32 people were mobilized to join the revolution in one month. Even though our army's front line and rear were stubbornly resisting, due to the wide disparity in strength and weapons between the two armies, it was finally lost on October 7.
Lai Yueming immediately withdrew with the team and moved all the way to Hongdu. The light rain in the days made Lai Yueming's mood become very bad, just like the defeat he had just experienced, which made people unhappy.
At the same time, there was another thing that worried her, when she was away from her husband Chen Yikuo for a long time, she didn't know where he was now and whether his health was good or not.
Perhaps the husband and wife had a sharp mind, and three days later Lai Yueming met Chen Yi in the next unit. Before they could speak, he noticed that Chen Yi's right leg was wrapped in a thick bandage, and a white cloth was hanging his leg in the air.
Lai Yueming, who was heartbroken, instantly threw herself into Chen Yi's arms and cried.
Chen Yi
The fall of Shicheng also meant that our army's fifth anti-encirclement and suppression campaign ended in failure. In order to preserve its strength, our army decided to march north on the Long March. Chen Yi was injured and had limited mobility.
Because of his long time in jiangxi and his rich combat experience, the organization arranged for him to stay behind to assist Xiang Ying in fighting guerrilla warfare.
Before the team left, considering that the team was large and easy to expose the target, it was also to protect the safety of the family members in the rear of the army. Chen Yi decided to have the troops and their families stationed in two places and act separately.
Long March team
As a leader, of course, he must take the lead, so he and his wife discussed it again and again:
"Yue Ming, there are quite a few old and weak women and children in our team, right?"
"Yes, that soldier brother can still have no relatives, and there are many ordinary people in the team."
"Do you know how many wounded and sick people are on our team?"
"Ten thousand to say less!"
"Yeah, such a big army, the target of the transfer is obvious!" If they are discovered by the enemy, I am afraid that they will suffer heavy losses! ”
“... I know what you mean, just let me go. You are seriously injured, we have just been reunited, and you want me to go again. I'm not leaving, or you'll shoot me!" ”
Chen Yi and his wife
After speaking, Lai Yueming ran out of the cave with tears in his eyes. It wasn't that she didn't have the heart to take care of the overall situation, it was just that Chen Yi had just been injured and had not yet healed, so how could she leave at this juncture.
Chen Yi found her and gently comforted her, "Yueming, we are all communists and shoulder the heavy responsibility of revolution. If the revolution is not successful, can you and I be at ease? Rest assured, I'll go find you. ”
A few days later, Lai Yueming was sent by the organization to Xingsheng County as a women's director, and Chen Yi arranged for Wan Xiang to escort her to Ma Shi'an. Before leaving, Chen Yi stuffed four silver dollars into his wife's pocket, and the two said goodbye with tears, but no one thought that this parting was a lifetime.
In February 1935, Jiang Youzong of Xingsheng County rebelled, and in order to avoid being pursued and killed by the enemy, Lai Yueming went to Jingtang to defect to her husband. But when she rushed to Jingtang full of hope, she learned that Chen Yi had already led the troops away the day before.
The military and civilians of the revolutionary years
Losing the whereabouts of her husband and unable to contact the organization, Lai Yueming had no choice but to return to her hometown for refuge. When she returned home, her father, who was addicted to smoking, sold her to a shoemaker in the next village to buy a big cigarette.
Lai Yueming, who preferred to die, could not resist the feudal family and village neighbors, and after a year of marriage, the shoemaker died in a foreign land. At the same time, Lai Yueming did not know where to get the news, saying that Chen Yi had died.
Lai Yueming, who was sad for a while, joined forces with a Red Army soldier named Fang Liangsong. After marriage, they raised three children.
On the other hand, Chen Yi was also struggling to find his wife who had never heard from him, and he asked wave after wave of people to inquire about Lai Yueming's whereabouts, but he was never successful. In October 1937, Chen Yi, who was eager to miss him, wrote "Xingguo Hostel".
"The xingcheng brigade is desolate at night, and the moon is bright in front of the broken paper window. I am still left with the difficult battle, and the Amun puppet bears the old feelings", the truth spilled on the paper.
One day in November 1954, Lai Yueming, who had dragged his youngest son to the village store to buy something, glanced at the newspaper on the counter, and the vice premier of the Republic who received foreign guests in the photo was not Chen Yi, the husband who lived with his love?
He did not die and became deputy prime minister. Lai Yueming, who was full of sorrow and joy, stumbled all the way back home.
Fang Liangsong saw that she had no master, so he asked her what was wrong. Lai Yueming only then recounted his past and said that he still wanted to see Chen Yi.
Fang Liangsong was afraid that after his wife left, the family would be scattered, his children had not yet grown up, and he was an ordinary person with a duty and could not withstand such a big change. The children also knelt on the ground and begged their mothers to put the family first.
Lai Yueming's family
With children, with a home, there are entanglements, how can you leave them for their own unrealistic ideas? Later, Lai Yueming learned that Chen Yi had re-established a family and had a cute child, so he decided not to bother anymore.
As long as both people are healthy and happy, it is not so important whether they can meet.
In January 1972, Chen Yi died in Beijing at the age of 71, and a large-scale mourning event was held across the country.
Lai Yueming, who heard the bad news from the radio, suddenly fell ill like a thunderbolt on a sunny day, and he instructed his children to set up a spiritual hall in the courtyard, set up incense cases, and burn incense in the direction of Beijing.
Lai Yueming, who received the news of Cai Chang's serious illness in 1988, could not sit still any longer, and she wanted to go north to see her old friend for the last time.
In order to meet Cai Chang, she found the All-China Women's Federation to ask for help, and the staff who did not know the identity of the person wrote down the information of the old man and told him to go back and wait for the news.
After a few days of discouragement, Lai Yueming decided to return to his hometown and ordered his son to buy a ticket. Just a second before leaving, Lai Yueming was left behind by the staff who rushed to see cai chang immediately, and they told the old man to take her to see Cai Chang immediately.
Cai Chang
In the ward, two old people held hands, and their tearful eyes vaguely told about their years of experience. For a long time, Lai Yueming was ready to get up and leave, but was stopped by Cai Chang, who signaled to the staff around her to take a group photo for them.
Lai Yueming crouched down beside the hospital bed, trembling and leaving behind the precious photo. Only then was her identity known.