The source of this article is the public number: brain hole history
On April 9, 1968, cheng qian, 87, died of illness, and three days later, the Kuomintang Revolutionary Committee held a memorial service for Cheng Qian.
On the second night of the memorial service, Zhou Enlai took time out of his busy schedule and appeared at the memorial service to express his condolences to General Cheng Qian and to express his cordial condolences to his relatives.
For the appearance of Zhou Enlai, Cheng Qian's wife Guo Yiqing was flattered, and after hesitating for a moment, she couldn't help but ask her heart: "Who is Cheng Qian?" What an ingredient in our house."
As soon as the question came out, everyone listened with bated breath, and they all waited to see how Zhou Enlai would answer this sensitive question.
A moment later, Zhou Enlai solemnly gave his answer.
Why did Guo Yiqing ask such a question at Cheng Qian's memorial service? What did Cheng Qian go through in his life, and what was Zhou Enlai's answer?
Born in 1882, Cheng Qian, a native of Liling, Hunan, was 11 years older than Chairman Mao, 5 years older than Chiang Kai-shek, and 4 years older than Mr. Zhu.
Cheng Qian was already a talent when he was 16 years old, and this year, the famous Pengshu Reform Law occurred, and Cheng Qian felt that the literati could not save the country, so he was admitted to the Hunan Wubei Academy and prepared to show his fists in the military circles. Because of his excellent grades, a year later, he was sent to the Japanese Army Non-Commissioned Officer School to study at public expense. It was at this time that the Kuomintang bigwigs Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren became friends with Cheng Qian.
During the Xinhai Revolution, Cheng Qian and Huang Xing commanded artillery operations in Hankou, and they were definitely the founding fathers of the Republic of China.
In Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary career, Cheng Qian did not help less, and during the third Dharma Protection Movement, thanks to Cheng Qian, Sun Yat-sen established himself in Guangzhou.
When Sun Yat-sen decided to establish the Whampoa Military Academy, the first principal in his mind was Cheng Qian, and Chiang Kai-shek had originally appointed Cheng Qian's assistant as vice president, and there was also a vice president named Li Jishen.
The reason why Cheng Qian chose Cheng Qian was because Cheng Qian had successfully opened the Tangwu Hall and now wanted to build Huangpu, so Cheng Qian merged the TangwuTang into the Whampoa Military Academy.
However, Chiang Kai-shek did not do it, and in a fit of luck, he wrote a resignation letter and returned to his hometown of Fenghua Xikou, and the reason why Chiang Kai-shek was angry was that he wanted to be the principal.
At this time, the major chaebols in Jiangnan took the initiative to come to Sun Yat-sen and expressed that their Chamber of Commerce in Jiangnan was willing to donate money for the construction of the Whampoa Military Academy, but there was a condition, that is, Chiang Kai-shek must be allowed to be the principal.
Sun Yat-sen felt embarrassed, and at this time Cheng Qian said that after the predecessors planted trees, the people would cool off, so let Chiang Kai-shek be the principal.
I have to say that Cheng Qian's offer to take the post of principal of the Whampoa Military Academy is actually a major regret in history, otherwise China's fate is most likely a different scene.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Cheng Qian, as the commander of the First Theater, led the army to guard Zhengzhou, Henan, and sat on an equal footing with Yan Xishan and Li Zongren. When the ambitions of the Japanese wolf were completely exposed and a large-scale attack began, the Nationalist general Song Zheyuan could not resist and retreated, in order to protect Henan from the invasion of the Japanese army, Cheng Qian led his troops to block Linyi, Shandong, and did not give in. Together with Li Zongren and other famous generals, he greatly demonstrated his might in Taierzhuang, severely defeated the Japanese army, and achieved a great victory in Taierzhuang, which shone brightly in the history of the War of Resistance.
Three months later, the battle of Lanfeng was unfavorable, and the Japanese army led by Toihara was arrogant and attempted to surround and kill all the frustrated Kuomintang Troops of the Fifth Theater. When such a hundred thousand people were in a hurry, Chiang Kai-shek personally called Cheng Qian and asked him to lead the war situation to rectify the war. Cheng Qian was ordered to concentrate his forces to quickly eliminate the enemy in Luxi, and the army that completed the combat task did not rest, and went straight to Zhengzhou, and the Nationalist army relied on Cheng Qian's proper command, morale was greatly boosted, and the Japanese army was victorious to retake Lanfeng and successfully cover the retreat of the troops of the Fifth Theater.
After Japan's surrender in 1945, Mao Zedong personally went to Chongqing to participate in the negotiations for domestic peace, which attracted national attention. At that time, General Cheng Qian was also in Chongqing, and he personally went to the "Guiyuan Garden" to meet Mao Zedong, and what Cheng Qian did not expect was that this LEADER of the CCP was actually a soldier under his command.
Mao Zedong was very humble to his "old boss", reminisced with Cheng Qian, and also made a special trip to visit Cheng Qian, which made Cheng Qian very moved, and he was impressed by Mao Zedong's leadership style and broad mind.
It was also at this time that Cheng Qian developed a good feeling for the Communists led by Mao Zedong, which also laid the groundwork for him to resolutely revolt and throw himself into the Communist Party.
Many years later, when Cheng Qian talked about the meeting in Chongqing that year, he still said:
"I already had a 'tacit understanding' with Mao Zedong in private, that is, to always have a bright heart."
On June 20, 1948, Mr. Cheng Qian's bid for vice president failed, at the same time, bad news followed, when Cheng Qian was appointed by Chiang Kai-shek as the director of the Changsha Appeasement Office, but unexpectedly at this time he was already on the list of war criminals of the CCP.
Later, after Chairman Mao Zedong learned about it, he immediately explained to Mr. Cheng Qian, eliminated his inner concerns, and said that the previous things could not be investigated, after all, in the process of CCP cooperation, Mr. Cheng Qian had always taken a clear stand and had a firm will.
Therefore, under the direct guidance of Chairman Mao Zedong, Cheng Qian and Bai Chongxi, then commander-in-chief of the Kuomintang's East China Bandits, fought with wisdom and courage, skillfully maneuvered, and successfully launched an uprising in Changsha, with as little bloodshed and sacrifice as possible, so that Hunan at that time avoided the baptism of fire, greatly promoted the development of the liberation cause, and finally completed the great cause of peaceful uprising.
On the eve of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Cheng Qian was invited by Chairman Mao to Beiping to discuss with everyone various matters concerning the founding of the country.
As soon as he arrived in Beiping, Cheng Qian received a very warm welcome. Chairman Mao even personally held a dinner party in Zhongnanhai to work for the boats and cars along the way to wash the dust.
Cheng Qian was very touched to see Chairman Mao's sincere and enthusiastic attitude, and Cheng Qian said at the dinner:
"As an elder of the Kuomintang, I had an opinion on Chiang Kai-shek after the Great Revolution. Although the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was victorious, I still had doubts about China's future, and I was even pessimistic. After the Liaoshen and Huaihai campaigns, the general trend of the Kuomintang has gone, which makes me see hope. I feel deeply ashamed of the hospitality of Mengrun Gong today, but in my lifetime, I am very willing to follow you and do some good things for the construction of the motherland and the benefit of the people. ”
After the founding of New China, Cheng Qian threw himself into the grand cause of building a new China, and a new page in his personal history began.
In the process of arranging Cheng Qian's work, Chairman Mao was particularly concerned about Cheng Qian's fate, and considered Cheng Qian's political status and living arrangements extremely thoughtfully; out of respect for Cheng Qian, Chairman Mao personally consulted with Cheng Qian's brother Cheng Xingling and asked him to consult with Cheng Qian before making a final decision.
In addition, Chairman Mao once said to Cheng Xingling: "Song Gong is an old man, and he cannot avoid nostalgic for his homeland; he has a house in Changsha, and we have prepared one in Beijing; he has a post in Hunan and a post in Beijing, and he can live in Changsha or in Beijing; as long as he attends some important meetings, he does not do specific work, so that he can live a good old age." ”
Whenever Cheng Xingling relayed Chairman Mao's arrangements for Cheng Qian to Cheng Qian, Cheng Qian deeply felt Chairman Mao's deep love, and in this regard, he said with great affection: "How much Chairman Mao has put his heart on me, not only caring about me in life and work, but also giving me military plans that are military secrets and consulting my opinions. I have worked with Chiang Kai-shek for 20 years, and Chiang Kai-shek's secrets have never been heard of. ”
Later, Mao Zedong said to Cheng Xingling: "Gong Song has been in the military and political circles for a long time, and there are many old departments, and those that need to be arranged but are difficult to arrange should be arranged as much as possible." There may still be people who ask him for money, or who want to send some money to old friends or old subordinates, and have to think about it for him, so as not to embarrass him. It is now decided that the government will give him a special fee of 50,000 catties of rice on a monthly basis, and let him spend it without any restrictions. ”
50,000 catties of rice was definitely a huge amount of money at that time, and later the currency reform was converted into 5,000 yuan per month, and it should be known that the monthly salary of the president of the country at that time was only 500 yuan! Cheng Qian fixed about half of this money to his subordinates, and the rest never used anything except for 300-500 yuan when he went to Beijing for a meeting.
Mao Zedong also held secret talks with Cheng Qian on many occasions, and showed him confidential documents on the PLA's march into the great southwest and solicited his opinions. Cheng Qian said movingly, "This is an extremely important military secret!" I worked with Chiang Kai-shek for a decade or twenty years, and Chiang's secrets have never been heard by me. How much Chairman Mao pushed me! ”
In 1952, Chairman Mao held a family banquet, specially invited Cheng sneaked to his home for dinner, after the meal the two of them walked in Zhongnanhai, all the way to the lake, Chairman Mao saw a boat, took the initiative to propose to row a boat together. After the two men boarded the boat, Cheng Qian thought that the guards would row, but Chairman Mao grabbed the oar and rowed up hard, and Cheng Qian said uneasily:
"You are the president of the country, and you are nearly a year old, how can you let you row for me?"
"Where, you are an ancient and elderly person, and you are my old boss, a hometown person, where is the reason for you to paddle!" Chairman Mao comforted Cheng Qiandao. In this way, Chairman Mao personally rowed a boat, took Cheng Qian to happily paddle on the lake, and swim in the Zhongnanhai Sea.
Later, Chairman Mao inspected Hunan and met cheng qian again, who had been governor for four years and was elected vice chairman of the national people's congress by-election. Chairman Mao instructed him to be in Beijing for half a year and Changsha for half a year:
"At present, leading cadres cannot be replaced at will, Andong Gong is a member of the central authorities, and we do not regard you as an 'inspector'.
In 1952, Cheng Qian became the chairman of the Hunan Provincial Government, and then served three consecutive terms as the governor of the Provincial People's Committee. On Chairman Mao's 70th birthday, in addition to his relatives at home, Chairman Mao invited only four elderly people from Hunan, including Cheng Qian. On the same day, Cheng Qian took the whole family to the banquet, and Chairman Mao also specially let people burn Cheng Qian's favorite tempeh peppers and smoked fish.
Cheng Qian did not participate in the 1955 award ceremony, because Cheng Qian's revolutionary qualifications and history of military merit were too rich, and it seemed inappropriate to confer any rank. Chen Mingren, a student who did not dive, was awarded the rank of founding general.
In 1959, after the Lushan Conference, Cheng Qian, as the governor of Hunan Province, cried out for Zhou Xiaozhou, secretary of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee: "Good people are straightened out, where does the truth exist?" ”
Cheng Qian's words could touch the dragon scales. Some people say that if it were not for Cheng Qian's identity, he would not be able to escape the impact of previous movements by virtue of his outspoken and angry temper.
In early 1968, Cheng accidentally fell and caused a fracture. The family rushed to the Beijing Hospital for surgery, but at that time, the Beijing Hospital was in a mess, and the medical order was very chaotic. On April 9, the 87-year-old Cheng Qian passed away with regret.
When this bad news came, Zhou Enlai was very sad, although the order at that time was relatively chaotic, but Zhou Enlai still tried every means to arrange Cheng Qian's aftermath properly.
Zhou Enlai knew that Cheng Qian had a wish before his death, that is, the idea of burying him in a coffin after his death. So Zhou Enlai discussed this issue with Cheng Qian's wife Guo Yiqing and said that he would try his best to satisfy Cheng Qian's last wishes before his death.
Cheng Qian's wife, Guo Yiqing, knew that this matter was not easy to handle, so she said to Zhou En: "Premier, your heart and I and the children have taken it, but now the situation is more special, I have discussed with the children, or cremation." ”
Zhou Enlai did not want Cheng Qian's only wish before his death to be satisfied, so he consulted with Guo Yiqing four times on the issue of "burial or cremation", hoping that she could agree to the burial. But no matter how much Zhou Enlai persuaded, Guo Yiqing was still reluctant to trouble Premier Zhou, and she insisted on cremation of Cheng Qian's body.
In the end, Zhou Enlai had no choice but to agree to cremate Cheng Qian's body. Zhou Enlai's repeated inquiry into the wishes of Cheng Qian's family also touched Guo Yiqing and the children.
On April 12, the Kuomintang Revolutionary Committee held a memorial service for Cheng Qian, and the memorial service was attended by Xiong Kewu, Lu Han, and other leaders of the Central Committee of the Kuomintang Revolutionary Committee, as well as Li Zongren and Zhang Shizhao, who together sent the last journey for Cheng Qian. The next evening, Premier Zhou took the time to come to Cheng Qian's home to mourn and express his condolences to his family. Cheng Qian's wife, Guo Yiqing, was very grateful for Premier Zhou's arrival and plucked up the courage to ask Premier Zhou a sentence buried in his heart:
"Who is Cheng Qian?"
Figure 丨 Cheng Qian couple
In the social environment at that time, Guo Yiqing's question immediately silenced everyone, and everyone was waiting for Premier Zhou's answer. Premier Zhou said passionately and firmly:
"Of course, Gong Song was a revolutionary cadre, he had cooperated with the Communist Party for so many years, and after liberation he held an important position, bowed to his best, and died after his death, and your family is also a revolutionary family."
His father had died, and Cheng Xi understood that he had to take on the heavy responsibility of this family, so on the day of his father Cheng Qian's memorial service, Cheng Xi decided to write a letter to Premier Zhou, talking about the situation at home and his own thoughts, and made 3 requests to Premier Zhou:
Cheng Xi
First, now that the house in the family is too big and the cost is also large, I hope that Premier Zhou will agree to change the house;
Second, my father died, my mother did not have a job, my sisters were still young, and I hoped that Premier Zhou would arrange a job for me;
Third, before his father's death, he wrote a poem expressing his feelings for Chairman Mao, hoping that Premier Zhou would be able to forward it to Chairman Mao.
What a sensible child!
When Premier Zhou received the letter, he carefully read the contents of the letter and quickly handled two of the requests for Cheng Xi personally, only the second request, and Premier Zhou did not agree to it.
It turned out that the reason why Premier Zhou did not agree was that he felt that Cheng Xi was still young, and his sisters in the family were even younger, so don't worry about supporting the family and work, in this regard, the State Council will be responsible for taking care of your family's life.
Cheng Xi learned of Premier Zhou's good intentions and could no longer hold back tears...