At 11:11 p.m. on March 21, 2005, in the 169 Hospital of Hengyang City, Hunan Province, the wind was raging, and the day of spring seemed to have a premonition of sadness. Ge Zhenlin, the last living hero of the "Five Heroes of Langya Mountain", died here at the age of 88 after many failed rescues due to illness.
For many of us, our understanding of Ge Zhenlin comes from the text "Five Heroes of Langya Mountain" that we learned in elementary school. So why did Ge Zhenlin not sacrifice after jumping off the cliff, and what was his life like after that?
Oil painting of the five heroes of Langya Mountain
In the autumn of 1941, the Japanese invaders concentrated their forces and launched a large-scale attack on our Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base area. On September 25, after the 7th Company of the 1st Regiment of the 1st Division of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region completed the retreat of the main force and the local masses, it left the 6th squad to cover the main force of the company and break through along the Pantuo Road of Langya Mountain.
There are 5 people in Class 6: squad leader Ma Baoyu, deputy squad leader Ge Zhenlin, and soldiers Song Xueyi, Hu Delin and Hu Fucai. In order to hold back the enemy, they fought and retreated, leading a large number of enemies to Langya Mountain, after half a day of bloody fighting, they annihilated more than 50 enemies, and at dusk, they finally ran out of ammunition and food.
Finally, the whole class, led by Ma Baoyu, shouted "Down with Japanese imperialism!" and "Long live the Communist Party of China!" and then jumped off the cliff heroically......
Stills of the five heroes of Langya Mountain
After jumping off the cliff, Ma Baoyu, Hu Delin and Hu Fucai died heroically, while Ge Zhenlin and Song Xueyi were hung by the branches on the mountainside and survived. But both of them were injured, and they could only hold each other with sticks, slowly moving in the direction of the chessboard.
At night, Ge Zhenlin and Song Xueyi found a black shadow flashing in front of them, and through careful identification, they felt that this black image was a local people, not like an enemy, so they shouted loudly: "Fellow countryman, how to get to the Qipantuo Temple?"
The other party walked over, and he found that although the two injured people were wearing tattered clothes, they could still see that they were wearing the uniforms of the Eighth Route Army, so he introduced himself and said: "I am Yu Yaofu, director of the Yi County Youth Salvation Association in Langya Mountain. ”
It turned out that Yu Yaofu also fell behind in the process of transferring, so Ge Zhenlin said to him: "My leg fell so hard that I couldn't walk, and Song Xueyi's waist was also broken, you help, let's go together!"
Yu Yaofu readily agreed: "Okay, okay!"
Due to the unknown situation on the mountain at that time, Yu Yaofu was worried that there was a hidden enemy and was worried about stepping on the mines planted by his own people, so he explored the road for a while in front of him, and then returned to support Ge Zhenlin and Song Xueyi to walk forward for a while. The three of them walked like this for a long time, and finally found a Taoist temple to rest.
葛振林（右）和宋学义（左）
This Taoist temple used to be a mountainous garrison of the Eighth Route Army, and Yu Yaofu found that there were ready-made two small pots of millet stewed rice in the house, which must have been cooked by the Eighth Route Army in the early morning, and they went to the front line before they had time to eat. Yu Yaofu was very happy, he took some water, heated the rice, and had a full meal with Ge and Song.
At this moment, Li Wenkui, the commander and clerk of the 7th Company, also came in, and when he saw Ge and Song, he was surprised and delighted, and he said: "I have lost contact with everyone, and I am hidden in the crevice of the cliff in the crisis. After the enemy had gone, I crawled out of the crevice of the cliff and groped my way to the temple. ”
After Ge Zhenlin and the others rested in the Taoist temple for one night, they were in a hurry to return to the army the next day, and Yu Yaofu sent them to the chessboard stone, and then said goodbye.
After Ge Zhenlin returned to the army, Nie Rongzhen, commander of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, personally signed an order naming the five soldiers as the "Five Heroes of Langya Mountain" and calling on the military and people of the whole region to learn from them. Ge Zhenlin was awarded the medal "Brave and Tenacious", and he also received a handkerchief, a diary and a pencil, which was already the richest prize at the time. In his later years, Ge Zhenlin felt very proud whenever he recalled these past events.
Ge Zhenlin (middle) and Song Xueyi (left)
In 1942, Ge Zhenlin was sent to the sophomore branch of Kang University for further study and began another fighting life, where not only the tempering of blood and fire, but also the nourishment of cultural knowledge and revolutionary ideas, made him more mature in the melting pot of the revolution.
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Ge Zhenlin successively served as company commander and deputy director of the regimental logistics department, and participated in the liberation of Zhangjiakou and Taiyuan with the troops. After the outbreak of the Korean War, Ge Zhenlin also planned to participate in the war, but he was given a new task: to lead his troops to participate in the construction of the Jingjiang Water Conservancy Project.
In the spring of 1952, Ge Zhenlin led more than 500 officers and soldiers to begin to work hard in Jingjiang, he shared weal and woe with the soldiers on the construction site for a long time, he could not even drink a sip of water during the day, and slept in a thatched hut at night. In the seventh issue of People's Pictorial in 1952, two pages were devoted to publishing photos of Ge Zhenlin's labor, allowing people to witness the demeanor of this former hero who made new contributions.
During the war years, Ge Zhenlin was rated as a second-class A disability due to multiple injuries, and as he grew older, his injuries became painful every time the climate changed, and the organization approved his dismissal in August 1966, taking into account his physical condition. In July 1981, Ge Zhenlin officially retired and enjoyed the treatment of a full teacher.
Ge Zhenlin
Although he is a heroic model, Ge Zhenlin never takes the initiative to promote himself. Once, his son Ge Yongxian, who was in elementary school, found that there was a "Ge Zhenlin" in the text "Five Heroes of Langya Mountain" with the same name as his father, so he asked him what was going on, Ge Zhenlin smiled and said: "There are many people with the same name and surname!"
But in class the next day, the teacher announced in front of the whole class: "Students, the hero Ge Zhenlin is in our Hengyang, and his son is in our class." Everyone turned their attention to Ge Yongxian, and the classroom burst into warm applause.
After Ge Yongxian went back, he blamed his father for deceiving people, but Ge Zhenlin smiled and said: "It's all in the past, it's old!"
After his retirement, Ge Zhenlin was very concerned about the education of young people, and he served as the director of the Hengyang City Working Committee for Caring for the Next Generation, and often went to various schools to tell children stories about battles, revolutionary traditions, and life ideals. From 1987 to 1994 alone, Ge Zhenlin gave 68 lectures to primary and secondary schools, with a direct audience of nearly 20,000 people.
Ge Zhenlin and the children
According to the regulations of the unit, Ge Zhenlin can use the car for free 180 kilometers every month after retirement, but when he is sick, considering the shortage of cars in the unit, he always asks the nanny to push him to the health center in a wheelchair. From home to the sanitary house, there is a 2 mile to go up, and when going uphill, Ge Zhenlin is afraid that the nanny will be tired, so he uses his hands to help desperately turn the wheelchair. The nanny was full of emotion: "Seeing Ge Lao like this, I really want to cry." ”
Once, Ge Zhenlin's grandson suddenly had a fever, and his wife asked him to call the unit as soon as possible and ask the unit to send a car to take his grandson to the hospital. But Ge Zhenlin thought about it again and again, and finally said to his wife: "The car is public, and we can't take advantage of the public's cheapness, so you should ask them to take the bus to the hospital." ”
My wife was a little angry: "I usually don't expect you to send a car, but today my grandson is like this, you don't care?
But Ge Zhenlin insisted on pressing the phone and not letting his wife call. The wife had no choice but to let her daughter-in-law squeeze the bus to the hospital with her grandson on her back.
Ge Zhenlin and the soldiers
Ge Zhenlin has four sons, and none of them are taken care of by Ge Zhenlin when they are assigned jobs. Ge Yongxian mentioned above is the third, he has been with Ge Zhenlin for the longest time, and he is also the most loved by his father. In 1977, after Ge Yongxian, an educated youth, returned to the city, he said to his father while waiting for the assignment of work: "Dad, you can say hello to the relevant leaders and help me find a good unit." ”
Ge Zhenlin resolutely refused: "I am a party member, and I will never plead for private matters." ”
In the end, Ge Yongxian was assigned to work as a grinder at the Jianxiang Diesel Engine Factory in Hengyang City, and he was extremely dissatisfied with this monotonous and boring work, and he grew tired of it. In 1984, Ge Yongxian left the Jianxiang Diesel Engine Factory without going through any formalities. Since then, he has often traveled back and forth between Guangzhou and Hengyang with some indiscriminate people, and he has become addicted to drugs.
One day in March 1993, the Dongshan Branch of the Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau arrested a group of drug addicts, including Ge Yongxian, at the Donghai Building. After the public security personnel learned of Ge Yongxian's identity, they immediately told Ge Changsheng, the eldest son of Ge Zhenlin, who worked in the logistics department of the Guangzhou Military Region. After Ge Changsheng released his younger brother on bail, he was sent back to his hometown in Hengyang.
After Ge Zhenlin learned that Ge Yongxian was taking drugs, he pointed at his nose and scolded: "You are not angry, it turns out that you are doing business, but I didn't expect you to be taking drugs......"
Ge Yongxian immediately knelt on the ground, saying that he wanted to change his past, he said: "Dad, it's all my fault for being confused, I will never ...... again"
On the eve of August 1, 1994, the Central Military Commission invited Ge Zhenlin to wear the "Red Star Medal" to Beijing to celebrate the Army Day with the head of the Central Committee. This "Order of the Red Star" was specially awarded by the Central Military Commission to retired veteran heroes 10 years ago. But after Ge Zhenlin opened the small box where he collected the medals, he found that the medals inside were gone!
Ge Zhenlin has always kept the box in a very secret place, which is generally impossible for outsiders to find, and he has to suspect that his son Ge Yongxian, who has a history of drug abuse, stole the medal. Under Ge Zhenlin's repeated questioning, Ge Yongxian finally admitted that he sold the medal in order to buy drugs, and Ge Zhenlin couldn't help but cry: "I have influenced several generations, but I can't control my son, sad!"
In the end, under the attention of the relevant departments, Ge Zhenlin used 800 yuan to redeem the "Red Flag Medal".
After that, some of Ge Yongxian's actions made Ge Zhenlin even more chilling: Once, Ge Zhenlin found that the 300 yuan in his passbook was missing, and soon after, he found that the 140 yuan party fee under the bed was also missing, and there is no doubt that Ge Yongxian had stolen it to buy drugs. Later, people in the family often came to collect debts, and some people even found Ge Zhenlin and asked him to repay the money for his son. Ge Zhenlin took out a stick to teach Ge Yongxian a lesson, but he repeatedly refused to change, and put on a posture of "dead pigs are not afraid of boiling water".
On the morning of 25 October 1998, Ge Zhenlin came to the Hengyang City Public Security Bureau on crutches and trembling, and solemnly submitted an application to the director of the bureau, requesting that his third son, Ge Yongxian, who was addicted to drugs and had refused to change his ways, be sent to re-education through labor. If this kind of development continues, it will endanger society! Leave my old face alone!"
Ge Zhenlin
Although this eventually led to the breakdown of the father-son relationship, Mr. Ge said he did not regret doing so at all. And Ge Zhenlin's righteous act of "sending his son to justice" also aroused strong repercussions in society, and the masses praised him and said: "The righteous killing of relatives is worthy of being an old hero!"
In November 2004, 87-year-old Ge Zhenlin became seriously ill and was admitted to Hengyang 169 Hospital. The weather was very cold at that time, and the nurse was worried that Ge Zhenlin would catch a cold, so she often turned on the air conditioner for him, but when he found out, she immediately turned off the air conditioner. Several times, the nurse secretly turned on the air conditioner after Ge Zhenlin fell asleep, but the first thing Ge Zhenlin did after waking up was to stretch out his trembling hand to try whether the air conditioner around him had hot air, if he found that there was hot air, he quickly turned off the air conditioner, and he also said to the nurse: "This weather is not too cold, you don't need to turn on the air conditioner for me, you can save some electricity, our country is not rich." ”
After Ge Zhenlin's death, in his hometown of Langya Mountain in Quyang County and Yi County in Hebei Province, the people spontaneously held a memorial service. On the day of the memorial service, the passenger flow of the Langya Mountain Scenic Area rose from dozens of people per day in the past to tens of thousands.
Ge Zhenlin's memorial service
Mr. Lu Xun said: "Since ancient times, we have had people who worked hard, people who worked hard, people who asked for their lives for the people, and people who sacrificed their lives to seek the law...... This is the backbone of China. The "backbone of China" praised by Mr. Lu Xun is the thousands of outstanding Chinese sons and daughters led by the Communist Party of China, national heroes like the "Five Heroes of Langya Mountain", and people with a capital letter like Ge Zhenlin!