With the passage of time, the revolutionaries of the older generation who founded New China have passed away.
Their deeds and style, posterity can only be learned and understood through historical records.
In the process of the founding of New China, Chairman Mao, as the founder of New China, always stood next to him a thin and tall figure, that is, Premier Zhou.
By the 1970s, Chairman Mao had not appeared to outsiders for a while because of his old age and infirmity.
However, on January 10, 1972, he unexpectedly attended Chen Yi's memorial service, which was enough to shock the world.
However, there was an accident at Chen Yi's memorial service, when the loudspeaker at the memorial service suddenly made a deafening noise.
The vigilant Premier Zhou immediately asked Chairman Mao to leave early in case there would be a bigger surprise.
The memorial service after his death was abruptly upgraded
On the night of January 6, 1972, Chen Yi, one of the ten founding marshals of new China, was killed by rectal cancer.
Premier Zhou, who first learned the news, endured his grief and consulted with several veteran marshals on Marshal Chen Yi's funeral specifications.
However, for various reasons, it can only be determined that it is slightly higher than the specifications of the general and the deputy chief of the general staff.
The drafting of Chen Yi's eulogy is another difficult problem.
In the end, Premier Zhou personally wrote it, and he wrote it for a long time, and Chen Yi's life "worked hard to serve the people, and there were merits and deeds, but the merits were greater than the excesses..."
Subsequently, Premier Zhou, who put down his pen and looked up at the sky and sighed, sent Chen Yi's eulogy to Chairman Mao for review and asked him to make a final decision.
On January 8, Chairman Mao wrote off all the words in Chen Yi's eulogy about the evaluation of Chen Yi's life's achievements, and wrote on the side of the manuscript: "Basically available" and "Comments on meritorious deeds should not be made at memorial services."
On the same day, Chairman Mao also circulated documents on the convening of Chen Yi's memorial service, including the specifications of Chen Yi's memorial service.
According to the specifications set forth in the document, Chen Yi's memorial service was organized by the Central Military Commission.
The memorial service, which was attended by 500 people, is scheduled to take place on January 10 at 3 p.m. in the Babaoshan Martyrs' Cemetery Auditorium.
However, many people strongly demanded to attend Chen Yi's memorial service, including Vice President Soong Ching Ling and Cambodia's Prince Sihanouk, which left Premier Zhou in a dilemma.
Chen Changjiang, the captain of the guard who accompanied Chairman Mao for the past two days, found that Chairman Mao's mental state was very bad.
No matter who he saw, he had a straight face, and eating and sleeping were not normal.
After lunch on January 10, it was customary for Chairman Mao to take a break.
But he was wrapped in beige pajamas and lying on a bed full of thread-bound books on one side, tossing and turning.
Then, he went into the study to read a book.
Chairman Mao had no calendar at hand, no clocks on the table, and no one to remind him.
However, before Chen Yi's memorial service was about to begin, he suddenly asked for the time.
When he learned that it was half past one o'clock, he slapped the armrest of the sofa: "Shunting, I am going to attend Comrade Chen Yi's memorial service!" ”
This caught Chen Changjiang by surprise, and he immediately grabbed the red machine phone, reported to Wang Dongxing, director of the Central Guard Bureau, and immediately reported to Premier Zhou's office.
Premier Zhou, who learned of the news, immediately dialed the telephone of the General Office of the Central Committee.
He said in a loud and powerful voice, "I am Premier Zhou." Please inform the members and alternate members of the Political Bureau in Beijing immediately that they must attend Comrade Chen Yi's memorial service. ”
He then called the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inform him that Prince Sihanouk had attended Chen Yi's memorial service.
Chairman Mao's car was a Giss-brand bulletproof vehicle donated by Stalin in 1950.
With the support of the service personnel, Chairman Mao wore pajamas, a trench coat on the outside, a pair of fluffy pants on the lower body, and a hat, and sat in the car in the face of the cold wind.
When Chairman Mao arrived, Premier Zhou, Song Qingling, Zhu De, Ye Jianying, Li Xiannian, Deng Yingchao, Kang Keqing, and others had already arrived.
Although there is no heating in the auditorium, it is very warm.
It turned out that long before Chairman Mao's arrival, the attentive Premier Zhou had asked that a stove be built in the auditorium so that the chairman could have a warm and comfortable place to stay.
Premier Zhou greeted Chairman Mao in the front hall of the auditorium, and the two shook hands cordially, but did not say anything.
Afterwards, Chairman Mao shook hands with everyone present.
Just at this moment, Chen Yi's wife, Zhang Qian, rushed over.
When Chairman Mao saw her, he wanted to get up from the sofa to greet her, and Chen Changjiang immediately helped him stand up.
Zhang Qian took a few steps, tears swirling in her eyes: "Chairman, how did you come?" ”
Because she remembers that chairman Mao attended the memorial service of the soldier Zhang Side in 1944, there was no other person's memorial service.
However, now the chairman dragged the sick body and braved the cold to attend Chen Yi's memorial service, which made Zhang Qian very moved.
Looking at Zhang Qian, who was full of tears and choking up, Chairman Mao's eyes were also red.
His words were particularly slow and heavy: "I also come to mourn Comrade Chen Yi!" Comrade Chen Yi is a good man and a good comrade..."
Chairman Mao also said many words of encouragement to Chen Yi's children, hoping that they would inherit their father's last wishes, study hard, and work well.
Seeing that the chairman looked tired, Zhang Qian said with concern: "Chairman, you can sit down and go back." ”
Chairman Mao shook his head slightly: "No, I will also attend the memorial service and give me a black veil." ”
So the staff put a wide black veil on the left sleeve of Chairman Mao's trench coat.
At exactly 3 p.m., the memorial service began on time.
The memorial service was presided over by Li Desheng and Premier Zhou delivered a eulogy.
The eulogy of less than 600 words, Premier Zhou actually read it twice choked up and lost his voice...
At this moment, the venue of more than 1,500 people was shrouded in an atmosphere of mourning, and the crowd heard whimpering from time to time.
When Premier Zhou finally read "Comrade Chen Yi rest in peace," before his voice fell, he heard a loud "buzzing" sound coming from the loudspeaker.
All the people were taken aback and looked up not knowing what was going on.
Premier Zhou in the hall was calm and calm, he first knocked the megaphone twice with his hand, and saw that there was no response, presumably something unexpected had happened.
In the case of unclear circumstances, in order to ensure the safety of Chairman Mao and foreign heads of state as a precaution, Premier Zhou resolutely decided to ask Chairman Mao and Prince Sihanouk to leave the hall and return to their residence.
Premier Zhou put Chairman Mao and Prince Sihanouk in the car and watched them leave Babao Mountain under the escort of the guards before returning to the hall.
He said to the head of the funeral board, "What's going on? Figure it out now. Then he motioned for Lee to continue to preside over the memorial service.
On the east side of the hall, the staff of the Broadcasting Bureau, which was in charge of the loudspeaking equipment, was frightened, and Chairman Mao came to attend the memorial service but malfunctioned, which was an accident.
"Did you find out the cause of the accident?"
Premier Zhou has been staring at the public security personnel here since the amplifier failed.
"It may be that a tube was burned, and the specific reason will be checked after going back."
Later, several staff members went back to do inspections, and the Broadcasting Bureau also wrote out inspection reports to the central authorities.
The revolutionary career has been full of ups and downs
This time, the 71-year-old Chen Yi finally failed to escape the clutches of the god of death with his fearlessness and wisdom.
In his revolutionary life, he had rubbed shoulders with the god of death several times.
But Chen Yi saved himself with calmness, composure, and tact, and also ensured the continuous advancement of the revolutionary cause.
In 1926, Chen Yi, who had returned from studying in France, participated in the planning of the Shun (Qing) Lu (Zhou) Uprising, but the result was unsuccessful.
Chen Yi ventured to Wuhan alone, and in May 1927 he became the party secretary of the Wuhan Central Military and Political School.
After that, he led more than 2,000 people from the teaching regiment reorganized from the Wuhan Central Military Academy and subordinate to the Second Front Army of the National Revolutionary Army to Nanchang to participate in the armed uprising, but by the time they arrived, the large troops had already withdrawn from Nanchang.
Later, after many dangers and obstacles, Chen Yi and Xiao Jin caught up with the rebel army in Yihuang, and Chen Yi was assigned to the Seventy-third Regiment of the 25th Division of the Rebel Army as a regimental instructor.
Premier Zhou, who entered the leadership team, said apologetically: "The work sent to you is too small, you should not be too small!" ”
Chen Yi said sincerely and joyfully, "What is small is not small, you told me to be an instructor." Just arm me! ”
This was the first acquaintance between Premier Zhou and Chen Yi on the road of revolution, but they had been friends for a long time, so there was no embarrassment or estrangement at all.
The two have a cheerful atmosphere, a calm and tranquil, and cooperate with each other meticulously.
In October 1934, the main force of the Central Red Army was forced to carry out a strategic shift and embarked on a long march.
At this time, Chen Yi was incapacitated by a bullet in his right hip and was left in the central revolutionary base area to persist in the struggle.
On October 10, Premier Zhou, who was arranging the transfer, met Chen Yi.
He saw that Chen Yi was walking hard and his face was sallow, and he immediately went forward to inquire about the injury.
When it was learned that the bullets in his leg had not been removed, because the main force had been decided to transfer, the X-ray machine and surgical medical equipment of the General Hospital of the Red Army had been packed.
Premier Zhou approached Minister of Health He Cheng and demanded that the box be opened immediately, and that He Cheng personally operate on Chen Yi.
So that afternoon, in a private house in Ruijin Xiaxiao Village, Chen Yi was finally treated by surgery and took out a "Seven-Nine" rifle bullet from his femur.
Later, Chen Yi said to Zhang Qian: "My legs, it can also be said that this life was saved by Comrade Enlai." ”
After Chiang Kai-shek sensed the movement of the main force of the Central Red Army, he mobilized hundreds of thousands of troops from more than 20 divisions to besiege the central revolutionary base areas.
In order to command and win this anti-"clean-up and suppression" struggle, Chen Yi dragged his injured leg, used a tree stick as a crutch, and led two guards to run between the guerrilla areas day and night, often encountering the enemy because he had not made good contact in advance or the time was not accurate.
One night, they suddenly encountered a company of security regiments, and had to hide in the reeds of the ditch next to the road, holding a short gun, determined to fight the enemy to the death if they were discovered.
A platoon leader of the enemy army flashed a flashlight, and the beam of light skimmed over Chen Yi several times.
Suddenly, the platoon grew up, and he found a shoe, so he turned the reed over, but covered Chen Yi tightly.
After the security regiment withdrew, Chen Yi and the guards did not come out of the reeds until the middle of the night.
The day after the July 7 Incident in 1937, the Communist Party of China sent a telegram to the whole country, demanding that "the two parties closely cooperate" and jointly resist Japan.
On August 13, Chiang Kai-shek publicly issued a statement that actually recognized the legitimate status of the Communist Party, thus announcing the resumption of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party and the formal formation of china's anti-Japanese national united front.
At that time, some Red Army guerrillas did not understand the anti-Japanese national united front and refused to accept the reorganization of the mountain.
To this end, Chen Yi decided to personally go to these guerrillas to carry out in-depth and meticulous propaganda and mobilization work.
In mid-November, he came to the Xianggan border guerrilla garrison, but was treated as a "traitor" and sent to Ganzishan, the temporary provincial party committee of the CPC Xianggan, and asked Tan Yubao, the secretary of the provincial party committee, to deal with it.
As soon as Chen Yi arrived there, he was tied to the side of the bamboo shed.
Hearing the provincial party committee studying and discussing how to deal with him, Chen Yi shouted loudly: "You can't kill, kill me, you will make a big mistake!" ”
No one here had ever seen Chen Yi, so Tan Yubao decided to summon everyone to conduct a public trial of Chen Yi.
Chen Yi debated with them, and as a result persuaded some of the people who participated in the public trial.
They suggested that Chen Yi be detained for a few days and then dealt with according to the reaction of the enemy troops under the mountain.
Since then, after many conversations with Chen Yi, Tan Yubao's suspicions about him have wavered.
Soon after, seeing that the Kuomintang troops under the mountain had indeed withdrawn, Tan Yubao decided to send traffic personnel to Ji'an to understand the situation.
From the newly established Communications Office of the New Fourth Army, the traffic officer quickly brought back an official letter confirming that Chen Yi was a party representative and a letter from the party Central Committee to the comrades of the whole party.
After Tan Yubao saw it, he said excitedly and guiltily: "I was reckless, and I almost missed a big thing." And hurriedly untied Chen Yi and apologized.
Chen Yi said, "You are a resolute old revolutionary and a good comrade!" ”
In 1938, Chen Yi encountered the Japanese army in Maoshan Village, and met Li Taoyuan, a long-time worker who was familiar with him during the retreat.
The two men were similar in size, both wearing long shirts, but different colors, so Li Taoyuan took the initiative to exchange coats with Chen Yi.
When the Japanese army captured Li Taoyuan, they found that they had captured the wrong person, so they returned home, and Chen Yi escaped the disaster again.
A friendship that has been tested by more than 40 years of war and fire
The reason why Chairman Mao attended Chen Yi's memorial service should be due to the 44-year-long friendship between the two.
It can be said that Chairman Mao and Chen Yi were both lifelong close comrades-in-arms and poets with profound "poetic feelings."
In October 1927, Zhu De and Chen Yi led the Nanchang Uprising troops to Dayu County.
When I heard that the autumn harvest uprising troops led by Chairman Mao had arrived at Jinggangshan, I had the idea of "going to Jinggangshan to find Chairman Mao."
In 1928, they came to Jinggangshan and met with chairman Mao's victorious autumn harvest uprising troops.
Chen Yi will always remember the first meeting he and Chairman Mao met at Longjiang Academy.
On that day, he said what was in his heart: "We have long been looking forward to coming to Jinggangshan, and today we finally got our wish." ”
After the Jinggangshan Division, the Fourth Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was formally established, with Zhu De as its commander, Chairman Mao as the party representative, and Chen Yi as the director of the Political Department.
Under the correct leadership of Chairman Mao, the Red Fourth Army fought the Huang'ao and Wudoujiang in the first battle, the Caoshi Pass and Yongxincheng in the second world war, and the new and old Qixiling and Longyuankou in the third war, with brilliant achievements.
At that time, Chairman Mao wrote a letter to Chen Yi, in which he said, "See each other and hate each other late, comfort each other, and discuss things when they meet." " words.
The three "phase" characters fully illustrate Chairman Mao's trust in Chen Yi and also express Chairman Mao's urgent desire to need Chen Yi's dual spiritual and military support.
However, after Chen Yi led the Red Fourth Army to venture into Shonan, it caused the "August defeat", and Chairman Mao personally went to Shonan with illness to meet Chen Yi's troops, and Chen Yi made a profound review.
On the way back to Jinggangshan, the two walked and talked, and Chairman Mao conquered Chen Yi with his broad perspective and profound thoughts.
With the failure of the fifth anti-"encirclement and suppression" operation, Chairman Mao and the Central Red Army began the Long March, and Chen Yi was left in the Central Soviet Region of Jiangxi province due to a leg injury to persist in fighting.
In the crisis situation of the enemy's capture of the county seat of the Central Soviet District, Chen Yi personally arranged reliable relations, arranging Chairman Mao and He Zizhen's son Mao Mao, Mao Zeqin's wife, and Chairman Mao's parents-in-law to hide in the outskirts of Ganzhou.
Under the common ideals and convictions and in the tempering of the revolutionary war, Chairman Mao and Chen Yi formed a profound revolutionary friendship.
At the same time, poetry, as a common hobby of the two of them, also built a bridge between them.
As soon as the two had free time, they got together to talk about poetry and song.
In 1929, Chairman Mao proposed revisions to Chen Yi's poem "Counter-Offensive against Longyan in Tingzhou".
Therefore, Chen Yi changed the sentence "The defeated army is still strong" to "The iron army is really iron", and the momentum of the whole poem is immediately highlighted.
Chen Yi and Premier Zhou knew each other as early as the Nanchang uprising, and later one became the premier of the whole country and the other was a vice premier, and the two can be described as a pair.
In 1955, Chen Yi accompanied Premier Zhou to the famous "Bandung Conference".
Chen Yi, who described himself as a "student" and a "trainee", cooperated with Premier Zhou to reach the "Ten Principles" of unity and anti-imperialism at the Bandung Conference.
In 1958, Chen Yi succeeded Premier Zhou as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
In his diary, Chen Yi recorded his feelings when he first learned of his appointment: "Thinking about the future, there is really a fear of shortness and deep fear. ”
He asked Premier Zhou for advice on his work and received the eight-character mantra of "diplomatic work, limited authorization."
In addition to his work, Premier Zhou also reconciled family conflicts for Chen Yi.
Once, Chen Yi returned from a visit abroad and partyed with other members of the delegation at the hotel.
Zhang Qian was worried about Chen Yi's body, so she advised him to come back early to rest in order to nourish his spirits. Chen Yi also agreed with a full mouth.
Due to the late end of the party, Chen Yi did not return until 2 a.m.
Zhang Qian was angry, and as soon as she gambled, she shut Chen Yi out of the door.
Chen Yi didn't even knock on the door, so he really moved the liver fire, he asked the guard to find a secretary, and when he met, he shouted: "Divorce, divorce!" ”
After Premier Zhou found out, he invited Chen Yi and his wife and Luo Ruiqing to take a walk together after dinner the next day.
Suddenly, a kite flew overhead.
Looking at the kite floating leisurely in the blue sky, Premier Zhou smiled and walked to Zhang Qian's side, pointed to the sky and said: "Zhang Qian, I give you a suggestion, you manage Mr. Chen, you should also be like flying a kite, the thread is in your hand, you have to pull the rope not tight, if the line is too tight, 'Boom', the rope is broken, the kite will fly!" ”
Luo Ruiqing and his wife next to them couldn't help but laugh, and Zhang Qian immediately understood Premier Zhou's meaning and kindness, and nodded her head and said yes.
The friendship between Chairman Mao, Premier Zhou and Chen Yi has lasted for more than 40 years, and they are all literate and martial.
Because of the great cause of the Chinese revolution, they met and knew each other, experienced mutual collision to mutual cooperation, and formed a deep friendship, which was praised by future generations.
Text/Blue Wind Candle Dust
Bibliography:
[1] Guan Leng, Military Scientist Chen Yi, Centennial Tide, 2021(8);
[2] Peng Debao, Chen Yizhuang Lake Escape, Tie Jun, 2021(1).