In 1955, when he was awarded the order, Wang Shusheng, who did not hold a very high position, was awarded the rank of general. Logically, the rank should match the position, what makes this general able to get the affirmation of the Party Central Committee?
We have all heard the stories of ancient friendships of Lian Po and Lin Xiangxiang, Yu Boya's acquaintance in the Zhong Zi period, and Wang Anshi and Ouyang Xiu's political disagreements but deep friendship. So are there any of these enviable stories of friendship in modern times?
After the founding of New China, one day Wang Shusheng came to the leader Xu Xiangqian's home as a guest. After he saw two black-and-white television sets, he did not consult Xu Xiangqian's opinion, and lifted one and left. Why would a subordinate dare to do such a thing to his superiors?
Affection and justice, how to choose
Wang Shusheng and Xu Xiangqian are a pair of comrades-in-arms, who have experienced the encirclement and suppression war, the anti-Japanese war, and the civil war together... After the founding of New China, friendship increased without diminishing. The two families often greet each other, "not relatives are better than relatives."
Once Wang Shusheng went to Xu Xiangqian's home as a guest, saw that Xu Xiangqian actually had two black-and-white television sets in his home, and ridiculed Xu Xiangqian: "You are capitalist, you must not want it!" cannot! ”
Although the war is over, they seem to have endless topics to talk about: the management of the continental army, the international situation, the future of their respective children... It's late afternoon. After dinner, Wang Shusheng got up and went back, picked up a black-and-white TV and left, leaving a sentence: "You have two, I will move one." ”
Wang Shusheng is not a greedy and cheap person who uses power. A subordinate once sent several chairs to his house, but he refused to accept them; after he was awarded the title of general, many "acquaintances" wanted to "entrust" him with an official and a half-post, but he refused: "My authority is given by the people, I want to serve the people, if you need it, you can find the local government to help." ”
Few people know that the great general Wang Shusheng came from a poor background. Before meeting Xu Xiangqian, he struggled and lived a difficult life.
The children of poor families have long been in charge. Wang Shusheng was born in Macheng, Hubei Province in 1905, and the family left a lot of property at that time. When he was 6 years old, his father died, the family began to decline, and when he was 8 years old, his mother also died of illness. These experiences also made Wang Shusheng have a wish, hoping to make his family rich again through him.
There are many ways to change your life, and learning is the most reliable and practical one. Wang Shusheng also chose this path, and studied very hard from an early age.
His cousin Wang You'an was a teacher, and the situation was turbulent at the time, and Wang You'an, as a teacher, was often cynical and critical of the bad behavior of society. Wang Shusheng was also deeply influenced by his cousin and had compassion for the toiling masses.
The so-called "technology is not pressurized", and the key moment may also play a huge role. By chance, Wang Shusheng also worshiped the martial arts master Yan Song as a teacher, and learned a good skill of using fists and knives. You must be able to lead the soldiers to fight, otherwise you will definitely not be able to lead the team.
Wang Shusheng's study and martial arts practice when he was a child brought him a huge advantage, although when he was studying, he probably didn't think about it so much.
We have all heard of "great righteousness and annihilation of relatives", but not many people can do it to "give a hard hand" to their relatives. After Wang Shusheng joined the Communist Party of China in 1926, his uncle "Ding Pillow Fish" bullied the people, ran amok, and even organized personnel to sabotage the Communist Party's organization. Wang Shusheng held a public meeting in Macheng to try the local tycoons and inferior gentry, including his uncle.
The public shouted in unison: "Kill them!" Kill them! ”
Wang Shusheng pulled out a large knife, and the "Ding Pillow Fish" could not take care of everything at this time, grabbed Wang Shusheng's pants, and begged for forgiveness while crying: "I am your uncle, please let me go!" ”
Wang Shusheng's eyes were firm and his voice was loud, saying, "You have done many evil deeds and deserved it!" So he threw off the trouser legs that were caught by the "Ding Pillow Fish", the knife fell, and the crowd shouted: "Good! Well done! ”
After this great act of righteousness and annihilation of relatives, everyone knew Wang Shusheng's determination to revolution and also knew that Wang Shusheng would think of the masses. Since then, Wang Shusheng has been famous in the countryside and has a high reputation and status.
Meet by chance, don't fight, don't know each other
In 1929, Chiang Kai-shek won a victory in the south, intending to encircle and suppress northern Hubei and Henan. In the initial battle, because there was no prior news, our party personnel were scattered and their combat effectiveness was insufficient, and Wu Guanghao, commander of the Thirty-first Division, also died heroically. In the end, there were two brigades left, one led by Wang Shusheng, with a total number of no more than two hundred people, and the personnel were scattered and lacked unified leadership.
Therefore, the Party Central Committee transferred Xu Xiangqian as deputy division commander and took over and organized the team. After Xu Qianqian arrived, he spoke to all the officers and men, and Wang Shusheng was also in the queue. Wang Shusheng looked at this tall, thin, yellow-faced deputy division commander and did not buy it in his heart: "Even if your boy is also a deputy division commander, it is better than Lao Tzu!" ”
Many friendships begin with the loss of friends. For the deputy division commander who parachuted in, he didn't look very capable on the outside, and he still spoke with a thick Shanxi accent. Wang Shusheng caught the opportunity and ridiculed Xu Xiangqian, but Xu Xiangqian did not bother with him much.
Strength is often demonstrated in actual combat. In July, Chiang Kai-shek launched an attack on the base areas. Xu deployed the battle plan forward, and it was definitely not possible to be tough, and the weapons and equipment supplies were not as good as those of the other side.
Therefore, using the method of "avoiding the enemy's main force and attacking its weak points", Wang Shusheng and others led the team to win successive victories, which greatly boosted morale.
There are strategies and methods to bring greater benefits. Wang Shusheng had also fought many victorious battles before, but most of them were "brutal", killing a thousand enemies and losing eight hundred. This battle made Wang Shusheng fight painfully and happily, and it was very comfortable. Facing an enemy stronger than yourself, you not only won the battle, but also lost very little.
Appearance often deceives. After this battle, Wang Shusheng learned some background of Xu Xiangqian: he was born in the Whampoa Military Academy and participated in the Guangzhou Uprising... It can be said that he is a leader with theory and practical combat. From then on, Wang Shusheng was completely and completely convinced of Xu Xiangqian.
See each other and hate late, grow together
Seeing that people who are better than themselves can take the initiative to study and seek education, Wang Shusheng did just that. After this battle, he once again learned from Xu Qianqian to learn military skills and strategic deployment.
People who look at each other "feel sorry for each other". Wang Shusheng felt that Xu Xiangqian was approachable and talkative, and was also willing to share his knowledge and strategy; Xu Xiangqian felt that Wang Shusheng was bold and decisive, but in terms of military strategy, he still needed to learn more and grow.
In this "you come and go" relationship, the two also slowly "friction" out of feelings, becoming a revolutionary friend who is also a teacher and a friend.
The purpose of learning is to practice, and practice is the only criterion for testing truth. At that time, the war chaos just gave Wang Shusheng the opportunity to theory of actual combat. Theory guides actual combat, improves theory in actual combat, and when bottlenecks are encountered, you can also consult "mentor" Xu Xiangqian. Therefore, Wang Shusheng's progress was very fast, and he quickly became a general who was both literate and martial.
Anything, if it is only a unilateral effort by one party, will not last long.
You may feel that Wang Shusheng is "asking" Xu Xiangqian, what did Xu Xiangqian get? For a long time, Wang Shusheng followed Xu Forward. When Xu Xiangqian was the commander of the division, Wang Shusheng was the commander of the regiment; when Xu Qianqian was the commander of the army, Wang Shusheng was the commander of the division; when Xu Xiangqian became the commander-in-chief of the Red Fourth Front, and Wang Shusheng was the commander and deputy commander-in-chief...
The so-called comrades-in-arms are "doing at least one successful thing together."
After Chiang Kai-shek lost the third "encirclement and suppression" campaign, he mobilized 15 divisions to encircle and suppress the Eyu-Anhui Soviet region again. At that time, Xu Xiangqian served as the commander-in-chief, with a total strength of about 30,000 people.
After the 9/18 incident, anti-Japanese sentiment was high. The Kuomintang's internal interest in encircling and suppressing the army also began to disperse, and Xu Xiangqian also had an insight into this. While doing propaganda work of uniting against Japan, he also deployed to launch an offensive at Huang'ancheng to disrupt Chiang Kai-shek's encirclement and suppression plan, which is known in history as the "Battle of Huang'ancheng".
According to Xu Xiangqian's deployment, "attack the enemy's defensive and temporary insufficient teams, and block the support teams." Among them, the task of blocking the enemy's support team was given to Wang Shusheng.
Wang Shusheng led his troops to set up an ambush on the Taohua Town and Gaoqiao River, the only way for enemy reinforcements. Wang Shusheng also applied the tactics he learned with Xu Xiangqian to actual combat, and he set up a total of three levels. When the enemy's reinforcements were reinforced, they encountered Wang Shusheng's layers of obstacles, and it was difficult to move forward.
Although the enemy attacked fiercely, it took two days to break through the obstacles, and finally missed the opportunity to support and gave up continuing to support.
In the end, Huang'an City was breached, and the enemy general Zhao Guanying was captured alive and a large number of weapons and equipment were captured. To this end, Xu Xiangqian gave Wang Shusheng a military merit, and the two fought an extremely beautiful victory hand in hand.
The big things in life, who is in charge
The ancients said: Thirty and standing, forty not confused. In 1942, Wang Shusheng was 37 years old and still a lonely man. Among the revolutionary comrades, it is really "the emperor is not anxious for eunuchs."
Therefore, the revolutionary comrades also introduced him to him one after another, and after all, they still had to start a family. Wang Shusheng knew that he didn't look good, and the previous few girls didn't grasp the acquaintance, coupled with the tight war, it was delayed again and again, and it could not be stopped.
One day, comrade-in-arms Tang Mingchun found Wang Shusheng and told him that his lover had a colleague in the hospital named Yang Ju. The other party is a doctor in the outpatient clinic, still very young and beautiful, give him a line. Wang Shusheng said no, but in fact, he still wanted to see it in his heart. Under the "flickering" of his comrade-in-arms Tang Mingchun, he "reluctantly agreed" to let Tang Mingchun's lover help talk about the tone.
Women in love have no brains, and so do men. There was no news after a few days, and Wang Shusheng was a little anxious. So I found Tang Mingchun to inquire about the situation, and Tang Mingchun laughed: "This kind of thing can't be rushed, it should be taken slowly, and it should be euphemistic to women. Wang Shusheng's face turned red as he was told, and he sat down on a chair and drank tea with his head bowed.
The next day Wang Shusheng couldn't sit still, so he went to the outpatient clinic alone to see Yang Ju. Yang Ju initially thought it was an ordinary patient and began to inquire about the condition. Wang Shusheng thought that Tang Mingchun had already explained the matter of the introduction object to Yang Ju, and after a brief chat, he said directly: "Dr. Yang, I have heard my comrades-in-arms say you many times, and I have a good impression of you. ”
Where did Yang Ju, who is in his twenties, experience this face? Her face turned red in an instant, and she ran to the infirmary next door to avoid it. Wang Shusheng realized that he was too abrupt, and he was embarrassed to complain to Tang Mingchun when he went back.
After this meeting, Wang Shusheng fell in love with Yang Ju at first sight, and the deputy commander, who was close to forty years old, fell into "unrequited love" like a young man in his twenties.
Wang Shusheng realized his abruptness, and Wang Shusheng also knew that yang Ju must have left a bad impression in his heart. So he used the military strategy he learned to pursue Yang Ju to "save the country with a curve."
Wang Shusheng entrusted several leaders to let them say good things to themselves. As a leader, of course, he is willing to "mix" these happy events, plus Wang Shusheng's matter has also spread among colleagues in the hospital, and everyone has also coaxed. Yang Ju and Wang Shusheng also slowly contacted each other to understand each other, during that time Wang Shusheng ran to the outpatient clinic every day, and people who didn't know thought he had some serious illness!
Marriage is a major event in life, who can decide for themselves?
Wang Shusheng's parents have passed away since he was a child, there is no parent to make the decision for himself, Wang Shusheng and Yang Ju have also talked about love for nearly two years, and have not yet broken the last layer of paper - marriage.
In the mid-autumn of 1944, Wang Shusheng took Yang Ju with him to see Xu Xiangqian and He Long, the two leaders. In the evening, Yang Ju said, "It's not early in the morning, I should go back." So he looked at Wang Shusheng and got up to prepare to go.
Xu Xiangqian smiled and said, "Today is a good day, I see, why don't you just do the happy event, just me and Lao He are also there, everyone is stained with your joy!" ”
Yang Ju whispered with a flushed face: "I haven't applied to the organization to make a report yet, it's not appropriate." ”
Xu Xiangqian laughed loudly: "I am the leader of Shusheng, I make the decision for him, the report does not need to be beaten!" ”
He Long also said happily: "When I led the troops, I spent a few years in the base area of your hometown, I am your mother's family, and I will also help you decide!" ”
Under the mediation of the two bosses, the two held a wedding that night, and Xu Xiangqian also vacated his bedroom to make a wedding room for Wang Shusheng. Wang Shusheng was extremely grateful to Xu Xiangqian, and at the same time, it can be seen that the friendship between the two revolutionary comrades-in-arms is deep.
In 1973, Wang Shusheng suffered from esophageal cancer, and the eldest son Wang Luguang was also hospitalized because of a car accident, and Yang Ju was running to take care of him. Once when Xu Xiangqian came to visit, he saw that Yang Ju had lost a circle, and he was very distressed.
In 1974, Wang Shusheng died of cancer, and Xu Xiangqian lost his "life confidant" and was deeply saddened.
Although Wang Shusheng was nearly forty years old before he married, he also left three men and a woman in the end, and these four children were deeply influenced by Wang Shusheng.
The eldest son, Wang Luguang, was very angry and was admitted to Tsinghua University. Influenced by his father to become a member of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, he became an air force fighter at the age of 24 and was put in a wheelchair after a car accident in 1972.
It is precisely because of this experience that Wang Luguang deeply understands what disabled people need, so he began to engage in charity and became the former secretary general and vice chairman of the China Welfare Foundation for the Disabled.
He died on February 20, 2005, but he will always be remembered by those he helped.
The second son, Wang Chu, was still frail and sickly since he was a child, and although he was carefully cared for by his mother Yang Ju, who was a doctor, he still suffered from cerebral hemorrhage and died at the age of 40.
The third son, Wang Jianchu, was influenced by his father and brother and wanted to be a soldier, so he joined the Chinese navy. Wang Jianchu was seasick and depressed, but his father, a soldier, felt that he was spoiled. Although he later retired from the Navy, he missed the treatment period due to depression, and his condition worsened and developed into mental illness.
The youngest daughter, Wang Yuhong, is very healthy, and like her mother, she has also become a military doctor. In 2022, she became a director of Beijing Newmanti Membrane Structure Company and a director of the China Welfare Foundation for the Disabled.
epilogue
It is enough to have a confidant in life. Wang Shusheng's life is a life full of color, and it is rare to meet Xu Xiangqian as a teacher and friend, not only a professional mentor, but also a mentor in life, and a friend at the same time.
Their friendship of more than half a century has experienced the watering of time, experienced life and death, grown together, and made progress together. We all say that time is the most precious, and being willing to spend precious time with each other is also a wealth. Who would you be willing to spend time with?
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WU Tiancheng. Chronicle of the Conquest of The Great General Wang Shusheng[J]. Hubei Archives, 2006(10):32-34. DOI:10.3969/j.issn.1003-8167.2006.10.014.