In January 1941, the Anhui Incident broke out, the Kuomintang 32nd Group Army surrounded the New Fourth Army Headquarters, and Xiang Ying, deputy commander of the New Fourth Army, went to Bee Cave for refuge after a successful breakthrough. Two months later, Xiang Ying was killed by traitors in the Bee Cave and died heroically. In fact, what many people don't know is that Xiang Ying had just started his second marriage at that time, and soon after he married his wife, the Anhui Incident broke out. Unfortunately, after the Anhui Incident, Xiang Ying was killed by traitors and sacrificed heroically. So, after Xiang Ying's sacrifice, what happened to his second wife?
Xiang Ying's second wife, Named Li Youlan, was born in 1919 in Ningbo, Zhejiang. Li Youlan was born into a merchant family, the father was the famous patriotic industrialist Li Shanxiang, Li Youlan was Li Shanxiang's second daughter. Although she was a girl, her father attached great importance to her education, so Li Youlan continued to study and study in various places when she was a teenager, until the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan.
In 1937, when the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out in full swing, Li Youlan temporarily ended his studies in Shanghai and returned to his hometown to participate in the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Movement. During his participation in the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Movement, Li Youlan was absorbed into our party and became a full party member. At that time, the guerrillas in the eight southern provinces had been reorganized into the New Fourth Army, and after joining the party, Li Youlan also decided to join the New Fourth Army and contribute his own strength to the War of Resistance.
Li Youlan was not only born in a rich family, but also had a beautiful appearance and was as beautiful as a flower, and after joining the New Fourth Army, he was even called a flower in the New Fourth Army. After entering the New Fourth Army, Li Youlan was arranged to enter the military headquarters and served as the head of the shorthand squad. At that time, the New Fourth Army Headquarters had senior leaders of the New Fourth Army, such as Commander Ye Ting and Deputy Commander Xiang Ying, and Li Youlan gradually became independent under their cultivation and did the shorthand work quickly and well.
At that time, the wife of Xiang Ying, the deputy commander of the New Fourth Army, was named Zhang Liang, and before the establishment of the New Fourth Army, Zhang Liang was imprisoned by the Kuomintang. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, after organizing rescue, Zhang Liang restored her personal freedom, and immediately after she restored her freedom, she rushed to the New Fourth Army To look for her husband, but at that time, Zhang Liang was suspected of being a traitor who betrayed Qu Qiubai, and Xiang Ying was in a high position, and under the premise that Zhang Liang did not have direct evidence to prove his innocence, he was inconvenient to reconcile with Zhang Liang, so although Zhang Liang found Xiang Ying, Xiang Ying only gave her a sum of money and sent Zhang Liang away from the New Fourth Army Headquarters. Since then, the two have broken up, Zhang Liang and his children have gone to Yan'an, and Xiang Ying continues to stay in the New Fourth Army headquarters to command the New Fourth Army to resist the Japanese invaders.
On the other hand, Xiang Ying and Li Youlan gradually developed feelings in the process of getting along, when both were single and had the same revolutionary ideals, and it was a natural thing to come together. In 1941, Li Youlan married Xiang Ying, but the marriage between the two did not last long, and it was also this year that the Anhui Incident broke out, the New Fourth Army was surrounded, and Xiang Ying was killed by traitors.
In 1942, the year after Xiang Ying's sacrifice, Li Youlan began her second marriage, falling in love with General Zhang Aiping and marrying in the base area of the anti-Japanese revolution in northern Jiangsu. After this, Li Youlan entered the Central China Bureau as a secretary, and after the founding of New China, he entered the Nanjing Military Region as the secretary of the headquarters.
After marrying General Zhang Aiping, Li Youlan gave birth to four children for General Zhang Aiping, three sons and one daughter. Under the cultivation of Li Youlan, these four children were very outstanding, of which the eldest son had served as the deputy commander of the Second Artillery and was awarded the rank of lieutenant general, and the second son and the third son were all colonels.
After that, Li Youlan left the headquarters of the Nanjing Military Region and entered the Civil Aviation Administration, where she served as the chief of the organization section, and in 1975, she was transferred to the National Defense Science and Technology Commission as deputy director of the office. Li Youlan worked diligently, dedicated his life to the revolution, and enjoyed the treatment of deputy military rank when he retired. In 2012, Li Youlan died of illness at the age of 93.
Resources:
The Legend of Li Youlan, daughter of Ningbo